Syrian landowner of new tomb site 'sidelined' by Ankara

Turkey?s army continued preparations to move a historical Ottoman tomb closer to the Turkish border in northern Syria on Feb. 24, but the owner of the plot has reportedly said Ankara did not ask for permission to use the land.

Turkey had evacuated its military personnel protecting the Tomb of Süleyman ?ah near the village of Karakozak in northern Syria early on Feb. 21. As part of the military operation, a Turkish flag was raised further north, near the Syrian village of Ashme, just 180 meters from the Turkish border. The artifacts in the mausoleum, which were brought to Turkey during the operation, will soon be placed in a new shrine that is being built on the plot near Ashme.

However, Bozan Osman, the Syrian owner of the plot, has complained that nobody informed him of the plans, or asked for his permission, according to Turkish daily Habertürk.

Osman, who fled his war-torn native Syria with his eight children, two brothers and mother, settled in the town of Birecik on the Turkish side of the border. He said a gendermarie commander asked the village administrator, or muhtar, about his plot of land last month, but he was not notified about the planned operation.

?I don?t see it as an occupation by Turkey. Turkey builds a shrine and a military post there because it has to,? Osman said, while expressing his hope that he will not be victimized, ?as the land is worth millions.?

?I had six hectares of land. Now soldiers have been positioned across all of it. I have to buy a new plot of land, but I need money for it. I want to live on the land where I was born,? he added, vowing to apply to international law if Turkey does not pay what he is owed.

A prefabricated structure in the Seljuk Turkish style is currently being...