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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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| Information | | |
Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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01Mar13
Turkey calls for no-fly zone in Syria
Turkey's foreign minister has reiterated his demand that world powers impose a no-fly zone over some parts of Syria to prevent the 23-month crisis from taking a greater toll on the civilian population, harshly criticizing nations for staying silent in the face of the violence in Turkey's southern neighbour. Video
Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists on a plane en route to Rome to attend an informal meeting of NATO and EU foreign ministers that world powers must impose a no-fly zone in areas such as the Hama and Homs provinces, where most of the fighting has taken place in the almost two-year clashes between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters. Davutoglu said the no-fly zone in these areas would be aimed at protecting the civilian population from being the target of air attacks by Syrian regime jets.
Davutoglu's call for a no-fly zone in Syria is not new. In September of last year he called for the establishment of a safe zone in Syria despite the possibility that it could trigger an international war, saying failure to take decisive measures now will lead to more risks in the future.
in addition, he also suggested creating corridors in Syria for humanitarian aid to the needy inside the country.
Turkey and Syria have been at odds for nearly two years, and NATO member Turkey has repeatedly scrambled jets along the countries' joint frontier and responded in kind when shells from the Syrian conflict landed inside its borders, fuelling fears that the civil war could spread to destabilize the region.
Davutoglu harshly criticized world powers for remaining silent and indifferent to the unceasing violence in Syria and for their lack of assistance to the restructured Syrian opposition and said he is expecting some degree of determination from world powers to honour their promises to the Syrian people and the opposition. He complained that Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon are taking most of the foreign brunt of the Syrian uprising.
About 5,000 refugees are fleeing Syria daily to neighbouring countries - a 36 per cent increase compared to December 2012 figures.
The UN says more than 40,000 people a week are fleeing the war-torn nation and that the total number of refugees will likely pass the 1 million mark in less than a month. The UN Refugee Agency has registered 936,000 Syrians across the Middle East and North Africa, nearly 30 times as many people as in April of last year.
Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, iraq and Egypt have been flooded with the bulk of the refugees.
The UN says nearly 70,000 people have died during the revolt against Assad, which began two years ago with peaceful protests but turned violent when Assad's forces tried to crush the demonstrations.
Davutoglu demanded that the Syrian regime be banned from firing Scud-type missiles into areas under the proposed no-fly zone protection including residential areas.
He added that either side - the opposition or the regime forces - that commits war crimes should be sanctioned to prevent such actions. He in addition talked about sanctions that also include military measures when necessary against those in both the opposition and the regime camps that prevent the humanitarian aid from being distributed inside Syria.
The Turkish foreign minister demanded that world powers urge Russia to support a resolution on Syria.
The Security Council has been deadlocked on Syria since 2011 over Russia and China's refusal to consider sanctions against Assad's government. They have vetoed three resolutions condemning Assad's attempts to crush the revolt.
[Source: Zaman website, Istanbul, in English, 01Mar13]
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