Jordan, Turkey join calls for Syria to end the violence

August 15, 2011|By the CNN Wire Staff
An image from a video uploaded on YouTube shows what appears to be Syrian armored vehicles in the Mediterranean port city of Latakia.

Two of Syria's neighbors joined growing international calls Monday for Damascus to halt its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters -- calls that came even as the violence itself continued.

In Jordan, the state-run Petra News Agency reported that Prime Minister Marouf Al Bakhit had urged his Syrian counterpart, Adel Safar, "to immediately halt military operations, implement speedy reform and spare the blood of the Syrian people, expressing the kingdom's rejection and regret over the continued killing and escalation in neighboring Syria."

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Al Bakhit told Safar in a telephone call that "such scenes" must stop, adding that "hope still exists on the ability of our brothers in Syria to achieve this end."

"We in Jordan await tangible and urgent measures in the near future," he said.

Similar sentiments were voiced in Ankara by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after his recent visit to Damascus. He told reporters in a televised news conference he had asked that the Syrian military end operations immediately, withdraw from cities and meet the democratic demands of the people.

"Syrian people should know that we are on their side with regard to their legitimate democratic rights," he said. "We hope our voice is heard and these operations are stopped."

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Turkish President Abdullah Gul met Monday with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and both "underscored the significance of halting the violence the Syrian administration is resorting to against people," Gul's office said in a statement.

Last week, King Abdullah called for an end to the bloodshed in Syria and recalled the Saudi ambassador from Damascus.

Bahrain and Kuwait also have recalled their ambassadors from Syria and called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end the crackdowns.

The United States has stopped short of explicit calls for al-Assad to step down, but Washington has said Syria would be better off without him. The United States slapped sanctions on Syria's largest mobile phone company and a bank, while calling for an oil and gas embargo.

The international entreaties and condemnations came as more than 5,000 Palestinians were reported to have fled a U.N. refugee camp in the port city of Latakia after the camp came under fire from Syrian security forces.

Some of the refugees had been asked to leave by the Syrian security forces, and some left on their own because they were afraid for their lives, said Christopher Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.

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