Turkey forces down, inspects plane heading to Syria
Armenian flight heading to Aleppo forced to land in Erzurum; inspection finds humanitarian supplies
Turkish authorities searched an Armenian plane heading to Syria after forcing it to land in the eastern city of Erzurum on Monday, sources from Turkey's state airports authority said.
Turkish media reported that the plane was headed to Aleppo.
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Ankara's Foreign Ministry said that the inspection found humanitarian supplies and the plane was allowed to continue on its way.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selcuk Unal said that Turkey granted the plane permission to fly over its airspace only on condition it can search its cargo for possible military equipment.
Turkey forced down a Syrian airliner en route from Moscow last Wednesday and said it was carrying Russian munitions destined for Syrian President Bashar Assad's military, infuriating Moscow and Damascus.
On Saturday, Syria announced that Turkish civilian planes were no longer allowed into its airspace.
A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement carried by the Damascus' official news agency SANA said the move was in retaliation for a similar Turkish ban on Syrian flights.
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