Last week, the Turkish town of Akcakale was hit by a Syrian mortar. The Turkish government promised retaliation if it ever happened again. Yesterday, Oct 3rd, a Syrian mortar fell on a residential neighborhood in Ackakale, killing a family of five.
In retaliation, Turkey has begun shelling Syrian government positions. An unknown number of Syrian soldiers have been killed in the Turkish response.
The Turkish parliament has been called to an Emergency meeting to authorize further action.
Turkey is a NATO Member. A NATO spokesmen has praised the Turks for their restraint, and demanded that Syria cease it's attacks across the Turkish border. NATO members, such as The United States, are treaty bound to defend any member state which is attacked. It is unclear what actions NATO members might take in response.
Turkey already has one of the worlds largest militaries, and Assad's military is already stretched thin fighting a popular revolution. It is unlikely that the Syrian government would survive an attack from the Turkish military alone, much less a sustained attack with NATO support. It is unclear what further action Turkey has planned.
A meeting of the UN Security Council is expected to condemn the Syrian attack.
BBC
Reuters
Al Jazeera