Turkey Says Syrian Violence Unacceptable

Turkey said Friday the Syrian regime's deadly crackdown on civilian protestors is "unacceptable" and "illegitimate", Anatolia news agency reported.

"The developments in Syria as I emphasized before are unacceptable," Anatolia quoted Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as saying.

"Operations with heavy arms and tanks in densely-populated residential areas like Hama are not legitimate at all," Davutoglu told reporters as he left a mosque after the Friday prayer in Ankara.

"Syria should take the messages from Turkey and the international community very seriously and put an end to this violent environment as soon as possible," he said.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has sought to crush weeks of protests with brutal force, killing more than 1,600 civilians and arresting thousands of dissenters, rights activists say.

Its latest crackdown has centered on the flashpoint protest hub of Hama, north of Damascus, where at least 30 people were reported killed on Wednesday by tanks shelling the city center.

Ankara, whose ties with Damascus have flourished in recent years, has stepped up pressure on Assad to initiate reform but has stopped short of calling for his departure.

But Turkey is showing mounting frustration with his foot-dragging on reform.