AKCAKALE, Turkey - Turkish authorities said they had seized thousands of guns in a warehouse by the Syrian border, and a local news agency said the weapons had been destined for Turkey's wartorn neighbor.
The firearms - including more than 5,000 shotguns and rifles, starting pistols, gunstocks and 10,000 cartridges - were discovered during a raid in a village on the edge of the Turkish town of Akcakale and displayed to journalists on Friday.
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It quoted police sources as saying the firearms had a market value of around 3 million lira ($1.7 million).
Turkey is a staunch supporter of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, now in its third year, and has harbored Syrian refugees and rebels crossing over the two countries' porous 900-km (550-mile) border.
But it has ruled out arming rebel fighters, fearing it could be drawn into a destabilizing regional conflict.
Turkey has a number of firearms manufacturers and the starting pistols found in the warehouse could easily be converted to fire live ammunition.
