Turkey to Shut Border Crossings with Syria

Turkey will close its border crossings with neighboring strife-torn Syria on Wednesday until further notice, a Turkish official told Agence France Presse.

"We have taken such a measure for our citizens for security reasons," said the official. "This is an open-ended measure and the reopening depends on the developments on the ground."

The move comes after rebels seized two border posts along the border in clashes with the regime's loyalist troops.

The official said foreigners who want to cross the border would be required to sign a paper warning them about potential danger in Syria.

There are seven functioning border posts along the nearly 900-kilometer (560-mile) frontier between the two countries.

The rebels controlled Jarabulus, Bab al-Hawa and al-Salama border crossings along the Turkish frontier. During last week's clashes between rebels and Syrian army troops at Bab al-Hawa, which lies across Turkey's Cilvegozu crossing, Turkish trucks were burned and ransacked.