It seems I was wrong in suggesting that Erdogan was made to step back from the brink. The false flag mortar shots from Syria onto Turkish grounds are said to continue. It defies any logic that the Syrian army would do such continues provocations. The Syrian government has no interest in giving Turkey a pretext for using its troops against Syria.
Each time such an unverifiable event happens the Turkish military is now using it (Dutch video report) to hold down Syrian army units with its artillery while the foreign sponsored insurgents take this or that town or army position.
This all together looks like a coordinated plan to push the Syrian army out of the border region with Turkey and to establish a zone there that the rebels can control and use for training and rest. It is Erdogan’s solution for the increasing problem those insurgents create for him on the Turkish side of the border.
It is also an escalation that deserves a response.