Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan on 24 February vowed his country will not remain silent over Syrian President Bashar Assad’s “crimes,” as Washington condemned a missile strike on Aleppo that left 58 dead. “Every day a large number of innocent children and women fall dead in Syria,” Erdogan, a key backer of Syria’s opposition, said in a speech in the United Arab Emirates. “We will not remain silent on those committing crimes against their people… We will not remain silent on the brutal dictator in Syria,” Erdogan added.
Turkey’s southern neighbour Syria has been locked in a 23-months-long conflict in which the United Nations estimates over 70,000 people have been killed. Early in the revolt against Assad’s regime, Turkey broke ties with Damascus and led international calls for his ouster. Turkey has since backed the uprising against Assad by offering shelter to defectors from Assad’s army and hosting opposition meetings. Some 200,000 Syrian refugees have fled the conflict in their country for Turkey.