TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu condemns the Syrian storming of Hama - one of the bloodiest days of a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad

Record ID: 279992

  • Title: TURKEY: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu condemns the Syrian storming of Hama - one of the bloodiest days of a five-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad
  • Date: 2nd August 2011
  • Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (AUGUST 1, 2011) (REUTERS) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU ARRIVING TO ANSWER QUESTIONS (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER AHMET DAVUTOGLU SAYING: "We are deeply appalled and dismayed by the operations in Hama and other Syrian cities. The method and timing of these operations is very wrong. We strongly condemn them."
  • Embargoed: 17th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADG5MG4QEGH59V40VEZN0COOPX
  • Story Text: Turkey's foreign minister on Monday (August 1) condemned Syria's use of tanks to storm the city of Hama, an assault that activists say killed 80 civilians.
    Turkey, one of President Bashar al-Assad's main allies until the uprising, felt "great disappointment and sadness" over Sunday's death toll, Ahmet Davutoglu said, blaming the use of tanks and heavy weapons for the high number of casualties.
    "We are deeply appalled and dismayed by the operations in Hama and other Syrian cities. The method and timing of these operations is very wrong. We strongly condemn them," Davutoglu told reporters.
    Syrian security forces had besieged the restive city for nearly a month before Sunday's crackdown on the eve of Ramadan, a holy month when Muslims fast in daylight hours. Residents said tanks began pounding neighborhoods of the city after attacking from several directions in a dawn assault.
    "Such a start to Ramadan, when we were expecting the implementation of the promised reforms, is not acceptable. We condemn the attack. We all wish to see an end to military operations in the holy month of Ramadan and we wish a peaceful future for Syrians," Davutoglu said.
    President Assad's decision to send troops and heavy armour into the city where his father crushed an Islamist uprising in 1982 suggested he intends to use all means to snuff out protests rather than carry out his promises of reform.
    The Syrian state news agency said the military entered Hama to purge armed groups that were terrorising citizens, an account dismissed as "nonsense" by a U.S. diplomat in Damascus. The agency said eight police personnel were killed while "confronting armed terrorist groups" in Hama.
    Syrian authorities have expelled most independent journalists since the anti-Assad unrest began in March, making it difficult to verify reports of violence and casualties.
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