E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Turkey Forces Armenian Plane Bound for Syria to Land in Erzurum
[An Nahar] An Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid for Syria was forced to land in Turkey on Thursday for an inspection of its cargo, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The cargo plane landed at Erzurum airport in eastern Turkey where teams of police and troops with sniffer dogs began their searches, it said.

The plane was allowed to take off for Syria after nothing suspect was found aboard, NTV television reported.

The Armenian foreign ministry said the landing was planned.

"It was a planned landing. The plane is carrying humanitarian cargo for Syrian Armenians in Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
," Armenian foreign ministry front man Tigran Balaian told Agence La Belle France Presse in Yerevan.

It was the second time in a month that the Turkish authorities have ordered an Armenian plane heading for Syria to land for security checks.

On October 15, another Armenian plane carrying humanitarian aid to Syria's battered second city of Aleppo was forced to land at Erzurum airport but the plane was allowed to resume journey after officials said no suspect cargo turned up during searches.

Posted by: Fred 2012-11-09
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=355628