Turkey to shut border crossings with Syria: Official

ANTAKYA: Turkey will close its border crossings with neighbouring strife-torn Syria on Wednesday until further notice, a Turkish official told AFP.

"We have taken such a measure for our citizens for security reasons," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "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-kilometre frontier between the two countries.

The rebels control 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.