Turkey to close border gates with Syria

ANKARA - Turkey will close all its border gates with Syria as of Wednesday until further notice for security reasons, Turkish Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazici said.

The closure would halt any crossing of vehicles between Syria and Turkey, but allow only transits for third countries, private daily Vatan Wednesday quoted Yazici as saying.

Ankara's decision came after Syrian rebels seized control of several gates on the Syrian side of the border last week.

Crossing the borders has become increasingly dangerous as several Turkish trucks were destroyed by rebels on the Syrian side of the crossings.

Turkey, once a close ally to Syria, has imposed a series of sanctions, including an arms embargo, on the unrest-torn country due to its alleged crackdown on anti-government protesters. The Turkey-Syria relations strained further after Syria shot down a Turkish military jet, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea in June.