Erdogan on Syrian Violence: We Have Reached the End of our Patience

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will visit Syria on Tuesday with the message that Ankara "has run out of patience" with the ongoing violence, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"We have reached the end of our patience and that's why I am sending the foreign minister to Syria on Tuesday," Erdogan was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying.

"He will have talks there during which he will convey our messages with determination," he said.

The prime minister said Turkey "cannot remain a spectator" to current events in the country with which it shares a border as well as historic and cultural links.

"We do not consider the problems in Syria a question of foreign policy but a domestic matter," he said.

"We must listen to the voices coming from over there, listen to them and do what is necessary."

Ankara, whose ties with Damascus have flourished in recent years, has called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to initiate reforms but has stopped short of calling for his departure.

The regime has sought to crush weeks of protests with brutal force, killing more than 1,600 civilians and arresting at least 12,000 of dissenters, rights activists say.