Turkey Says Security Council Needs 'New Measure' in Syria
Turkey's foreign minister called Saturday on the U.N. Security Council to take "a new measure" in Syria to stop the crisis there from getting worse after U.N. observers suspended their mission.
"In the event that this observer mission pulls back, there is need for the U.N. Security Council to immediately do a situation assessment and take a new measure to ensure the humanitarian tragedy does not move onto a next level," Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters.
The minister's remarks came after U.N. observers announced they were suspending their mission in Syria, on grounds that the intensifying violence risked their lives and hindered their ability to observe and report.
"The announcement (of suspension) came at a time we were expecting an increase in the number of observers and a more effective deployment on the ground," Davutoglu said.
He also spoke of the risks to the observers, which he said necessitated a re-evaluation by the Security Council "to secure the presence of the U.N. on the ground with a more effective mandate," without elaborating.
His comments come against the backdrop of a call from Burhan Ghalioun, politburo chief of the opposition Syrian National Council, for the U.N. to deploy armed peacekeepers on the ground.
As violence continues to escalate in Syria, the number of Syrian refugees who flee into Turkey also rises, Davutoglu said.
"The flow of refugees into Turkey worries us extremely, also for humanitarian reasons," he said.
Multiple camps established close to the Syrian border in Turkey's southeast are now home to 30,900 Syrians who have fled the violence in their homelands since the uprising in Syria started 16 months ago.
Source: Agence France Presse
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