Turkey Vows to Protect Borders from Syria Spillover

Turkey on Friday vowed to "respond immediately" to any violation of its borders by Kurdish separatists fighting in Syria.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made the warning following the seizure of a Syrian town on the border with Turkey by rebels from the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, a Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A 17-year-old Turk was killed by a stray bullet from Ras al-Ain earlier this week, where rebels from the Free Syrian Army have been clashing with Kurdish fighters.

Another Turkish teenager was injured after he was shot in the back during cross-border skirmishes.

On Friday, F-16s from the Turkish Air Force flew over the area in a reconnaissance mission that lasted more than two hours. Turkey shares an 800-mile long border with Syria.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara with the Greek minister of foreign affairs, Evangelos Venizelos, Davutoglu warned of the "grave dangers" posed by the Kurdish fighters.

He said the Turkish army "would respond immediately" if it felt its border security was under threat.

"Turkey will continue to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of its borders," he said.

He also told the different factions of Kurds, jihadists and rebels fighting in Syria not to export their conflict into Turkey.

The Kurdish Democratic Union Party is fighting the Syrian regime as well as rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad in an effort to secure a homeland for the some two million Kurds in Syria.

It took control of Ras al-Ain earlier this week.

The Turkish government is involved in fragile peace talks with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in a bid to end nearly three decades of deadly conflict.

There are fears in Turkey that any Kurdish separatism in Syria could be used to launch similar claims in Turkey.

Davutoglu added any separatist claims by fighters of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party would "enflame the fighting and deepen the untenable situation in Syria".

Turkey is currently home to some 500,000 Syrian refugees.