Syrian government forces backed by Russia are carrying out a deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing around the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu said on Wednesday.
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"One of the aims of the latest attacks is to conduct ethnic cleansing. Ethnic cleansing in Syria and Aleppo aimed at only leaving regime supporters behind is being conducted by the Syrian regime and Russia in a very deliberate way," he said.
"Every refugee that we accept helps their ethnic cleansing policy but we will continue to accept [refugees]," DavutoÄŸlu told a joint news conference with his Dutch counterpart. During the press conference, DavutoÄŸlu also lashed out at the United Nations after it demanded the country open its borders to tens of thousands of more Syrian refugees, accusing it of failing to stop the Russian bombings that have triggered the exodus.
DavutoÄŸlu said he considered the UN Security Council "two-faced" for telling Turkey to open its borders while not moving "a finger to solve the Syria crisis" or to stop the Russian bombardments. He also said the Syrian and Russian military operations were an attempt to drive out people who don't support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
By taking in the refugees that have fled the city of Aleppo, he said Turkey would be indirectly contributing to what he termed as "ethnic cleansing." DavutoÄŸlu reiterated that Turkey planned to care for the new wave of refugees at camps on the Syrian side of the border. |