Erdoğan Says Received ‘Strong Signals’ Syrian Crackdown Nearing End
Erdoğan Says Received ‘Strong Signals’ Syrian Crackdown Nearing End
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Ankara has started to receive what he called “strong signals” that the 21-month old Syrian uprising is coming to an end in favor of Syrian opposition.
“This bloody, this despotic process that continues nearly two years is already nearing to end. A government that meets the demands of people in Syria - God willing - will come to power soon,” Erdoğan told a meeting in Şanlıurfa province on the Syrian border.
Noting that Syria is passing through a painful and bloody period, Erdoğan said this process has economically hurt Şanlıurfa. He added that militarily, Ankara has changed its engagement rules to meet the Syrian threat more effectively after a mortar shell killed five Turkish nationals in the province’s Akçakale district, just on the border with Syria.
Syrian rebels are fighting a 21-month-old revolt against President Bashar Assad’s regime. Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed in the crisis, which began with pro-democracy protests but has morphed into a civil war.
With steady opposition gains across the north, President Bashar Assad’s regime is having increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province, especially after opposition fighters cut a major thoroughfare from Damascus. It is just another sign that the opposition is consolidating its grip across large swathes of territory in northern Syria near the Turkish border.