DAMASCUS: Syria banned Turkish passenger flights from its airspace on Sunday in a retaliatory move after Turkey confiscated a cargo of what Russia said was radar equipment en route from Moscow to Damascus.

The reprisal, just weeks before the annual hajj when thousands of Turkish pilgrims head to the Muslim holy places in Saudi Arabia on a route that would normally take them through Syrian airspace, came despite a flurry of diplomacy on Saturday intended to calm soaring tensions between the neighbors.

Syria accuses Turkey of channeling arms from Gulf Arab states to rebels fighting its troops, who have been under mounting pressure across large swathes of the north, including second city Aleppo.

The flight ban went into force from midnight (2100 GMT Saturday) “in accordance with the principle of reciprocity”, SANA state news agency said, although Turkey has said that its airspace remains open to Syrian civilian flights.

Since Wednesday, Turkey had warned its airlines to avoid Syrian airspace for fear of retaliation for that day’s interception of the Syrian Air flight by Turkish jets on the allegation it was carrying military equipment.

The United States backed its NATO ally’s confiscation of what Russia said was radar spare parts, saying that they constituted “serious military equipment”.

Russia, traditional ally of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, insisted that the cargo broke no international rules.

Turkey has taken an increasingly strident line towards its southern neighbor since a shell fired from the Syrian side of the border killed five of its nationals on October 3.

It has since repeatedly retaliated for cross-border fire, prompting growing UN concern and a flurry of diplomatic contacts.

After talks with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated that Ankara would not tolerate any further border incidents.

“We will hit back without hesitation if we believe Turkey’s national security is in danger,” he said.

Westerwelle renewed Germany’s support for its NATO ally while at the same time appealing for restraint. “We are on Turkey’s side but we also call on Turkey to show moderation,” he said.

Peace envoy in Tehran
Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat who is the envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League, headed to Iran, the Syria government’s closest ally, after holding talks in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the leading backers of the opposition.

Brahimi is on his second tour of the region after taking up his post at the start of September, replacing former UN chief Kofi Annan who quit, complaining that he had not received sufficient support from the major powers to see through his abortive April peace plan.

On the ground, fierce fighting raged between the army and rebel fighters on the main highway between Damascus and Aleppo, where Human Rights Watch said that the air force was dropping cluster bombs in populated areas.

The rebels’ capture of the strategic crossroads town of Maaret al-Numan on Tuesday has threatened the army’s ability to reinforce its beleaguered troops in the northern metropolis.

One rebel fighter was killed and 18 wounded as fighting raged for a second day around the nearby Wadi Daif base, which remains in government hands, the Syrian Observatory for Human Right said.

Air strikes targeted the rebels in the village of Marshurin and in Hish in the same region, the Britain-based watchdog added.

On Saturday, warplanes pounded the center of Maaret al-Numan, killing construction worker Adnan Kashit outside his mother’s home, an Agence France-Presse correspondent reported.

The air strikes tore Kashit’s body to pieces. At least four other people, including a 15-year-old boy, were also killed.

Human Rights Watch on Sunday urged the Syrian military to stop its use of cluster bombs, weapons that can contain up to 650 submunitions which are sprayed over a large area.

“Syria’s disregard for its civilian population is all too evident in its air campaign, which now apparently includes dropping these deadly cluster bombs into populated areas,” said Steve Goose, arms director at the New York-based group.