Sukhoi Su-24 Ditembak Jatuh F-16 Akibat Pilot Rusia Masuki Turki Tanpa Izin
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Jet for Violating Its Air Space
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
MILITER Turki menembak jatuh sebuah pesawat jet tempur Rusia dekat perbatasan Suriah, seperti ditegaskan Ankara dan Moskow.
Pesawat jet Sukhoi Su-24 jet ditembak jatuh oleh jet tempur F-16 milik Turki pada Selasa pagi waktu setempat setelah melanggar wilayah udara negara itu dan mengabaikan hampir selusin peringatan, kata para pejabat militer.
Namun, Kementerian Pertahanan Rusia mengklaim jet itu berada di wilayah udara Suriah, dan ditembak jatuh dari darat.
Rekaman menunjukkan pesawat terbakar sebelum jatuh di Turkomen Mountains, Suriah, suatu kawasan yang menjadi pemicu ketegangan baru antara Turki dan Rusia.
Kawasan ini mayoritas dihuni oleh Turkmens - warga Suriah, tetapi beretnis Turki - dan menjadi target serangan pemerintah Suriah saat ini, di mana pasukan darat Presiden Bashar al-Assad didukung oleh serangan udara Rusia, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Militer Turki mengatakan pilot jet Rusia sudah diperingatkan 'sepuluh kali' dalam waktu lima menit sebelum pesawat itu ditembak jatuh.
Kedua pilot Sukhoi menyelamatkan diri dari pesawat dengan kursi pelontar dan tampak payung terjunnya mendarat, satu di antaranya dilaporkan tewas dan seorang lagi ditangkap oleh pemberontak Turkmens Suriah.
Sebuah video yang diunggah di Twitter oleh seorang pria yang diyakini sebagai tentara pemberontak Suriah-Turkmen, salah satu dari banyak kelompok yang memerangi pemerintah Suriah yang tidak bersekutu dengan ISIS, mengklaim untuk memperlihatkan sosok dari pilot yang berhasil ditangkap.
The Turkomen Mountains dikendalikan oleh beberapa kelompok pemberontak termasuk cabang al-Qaida di Suriah, Nusra Front, dan Divisi Pesisir 2 yang terdiri atas pejuang lokal Turkmen.
Hanya beberapa jam sebelum jet Rusia ditembak jatuh, Ankara menyerukan pertemuan Dewan Keamanan PBB untuk membahas serangan terhadap daerah Turkmen di Suriah.
Hal ini menyusul pemanggilan duta Moskow pada Jumat, ketika Ankara menuntut segera diakhirinya operasi militer Rusia dekat perbatasan Suriah mengatakan tindakan Rusia bukan 'merupakan perang melawan terorisme' namun pemboman warga sipil.
Duta Besar Andrey Karlov memperingatkan pada pertemuan bahwa operasi Rusia dapat menyebabkan konsekuensi serius, kata kementerian itu.
Pernyataan dari militer Turki, yang diterbitkan sebelum itu menegaskan bahwa jet itu milik Rusia, dikatakan, pesawat memasuki wilayah udara Turki di atas kota Yayladagi, di provinsi Hatay.
'Pada 24 November 2015 sekitar pukul 09:20, sebuah pesawat yang kewarganegaraannya tidak diketahui melanggar wilayah udara Turki meskipun telah beberapa kali diperingatkan peringatan (sepuluh kali dalam waktu lima menit) di daerah Yayladagi, Hatary.
"Dua pesawat F-16 bertugas patroli udara di daerah intervensi terhadap pesawat tersebut sesuai dengan aturan wilayah udara pada pukul 9:24 pagi.'
TURKISH military has shot down a Russian war plane near its border to Syria, Ankara and Moscow confirms.
The Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter planes on Tuesday morning after violating the country's air space and ignoring nearly a dozen warnings, army officials said.
However, Russia's Ministry of Defence claims the jet was in Syrian airspace, and was shot down from the ground.
Footage shows the plane engulfed in flames as it comes crashing down in Syria's Turkomen Mountains, an area which has been the cause of recent tensions between Turkey and Russia.
The area is mainly populated by Turkmens - Syrians citizens, but ethnic Turks - and is the target of a current Syrian government offensive, where President Bashar al-Assad's ground troops are supported by Russian airstrikes.
The Turkish army said the pilots of the Russian jet had been warned 'ten times in the space of five minutes' before the plane was shot down.
Both pilots ejected themselves from the jet and could be seen parachuting down to the ground, where one has been reported dead and the other captured by Syrian Turkmen rebels.
A video posted on Twitter by a man believed to be a Syrian-Turkmen rebel soldier, one of many groups fighting against the Syrian government who are not allied with ISIS, claims to show the captured pilot.
The Turkomen Mountains is controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division that consists of local Turkmen fighters.
Just hours before the Russian jet was shot down, Ankara called for a U.N Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Turkmen areas in Syria.
It followed a summoning of Moscow's ambassador on Friday, when Ankara demanded an immediate end to the Russian military operation near the Syrian border saying the Russian actions did not 'constitute a fight against terrorism' but the bombing of civilians.
Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.
A Turkish military statement, issued before it was confirmed that the jet was Russian, said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.
'On Nov. 24, 2015 at around 09.20am, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (ten times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary.
'Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 09.24am.'
