The Turkish prime minister has told the BBC that Turkey will push again for a no-fly zone over northern Syria to protect civilians fleeing both the Islamic State and Syrian government forces.
Ahmet Davutoglu said he would work with the US to establish a “safe area” for people displaced by Syria’s conflict.
Turkish efforts to establish a safe zone in northern Syria are still met with US rejection. Asked about reports of agreeing with Turkey in this regard, U.S. State Department Mark Toner said: “There’s no agreement on some kind of zone.”
Toner said he had not seen the Turkish official’s remarks and could not address them. “I’m not denying his claims,” he added.
“We’ve been pretty clear from the podium and elsewhere saying there’s no zone, no safe haven, we’re not talking about that here. What we’re talking about is a sustained effort to drive ISIL out of the region,” Toner told a news briefing.
Spokesman of the Syrian Coalition Salem al-Meslet said that the world’s continued ignoring of Assad’s genocidal war on the Syrian people is morally and humanly unacceptable.
He calls on the international anti-terror coalition, specifically the friends of Syria countries, to impose a no-fly zone in northern and southern Syria to protect children and women from Assad’s murderous air force. He also calls for establishing safe areas for which civilians can resort.
He stresses that the international community must lift the ban on providing advanced weapons to rebel fighters, noting that the world’s sorting of rebel fighters between moderates and extremists remains the main obstacle to empower Syria’s rebel factions. “Syria’s rebel fighters have proven themselves as a spear in the battle against all forms of terrorism, beginning with the Assad regime, the Hezbollah militia and the sectarian terrorist and ending with ISIS. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
