Syrian refugees in Reyhanli district, in Antakya, Turkey. Photo: EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU

On the first day of its new legislative year, Turkey’s parliament wasted no time introducing a motion to engage Syria militarily, Hurriyet Daily News reported Tuesday.

The motion asked for authorization to send troops to, or to engage in a military operation in, Syria, citing the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as an immediate threat to the security of Turkey. The motion referred explicitly to an attack  Aug. 21 in the suburbs of Damascus by regime forces that killed more than 1,000 Syrian civilians.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, the motion said that it was indispensable to authorize the government to take all necessary measures to prevent the regime from using these weapons.