ISTANBUL, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Syria move closer than ever to the verge of war after Syria's latest mortar shelling killed five Turkish civilians.
The Turkey Parliament has authorized a war mandate last week, enabling further cross-border military action against Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked about the war twice within a week, saying that Turkey was not far away from war and called on his people to be prepared.
Turkey and Syria have been exchanging cross-border artillery fire for almost a week. In this sense, Turkey has already started fighting.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last Saturday that conflict between Turkey and Syria may escalate and spread to neighboring countries.
However, many Turkish analysts worry that it would be great mistake for Turkey to get involved in a war with Syria, which could bring serious consequences to this country.
"If Turkey starts war with Syria, it would be detrimental for both countries. Turkey's social stability, economic development and democratization process would all be badly affected," Aykan Erdemir, a Turkish MP from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told Xinhua.
