…Hopes anti-regime march continues ‘without disasters’
Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said he hopes the march of anti-regime forces toward Damascus continues “without accidents or disasters.”
“Idlib, Hama, Homs, and the target, of course, is Damascus. The opposition’s march continues. Our wish is that this march in Syria continues without accidents or disasters,” Erdoğan told reporters following Friday prayers in Istanbul.
Syria has become a new focus amid anti-regime forces’ lightning advance across the country’s north that last week saw them take the commercial hub of Aleppo from regime forces, followed by the key city of Hama on Thursday and closing in on the third-largest city of Homs on Friday.
Erdoğan, whose country has become home to about 3 million Syrian refugees since the war started in 2011, has held a number of discussions with other leaders on the crisis in recent days.
He expressed frustration over Syria’s leadership, saying: “We made a call to (Bashar) Assad. We said: ‘Come, let’s determine the future of Syria together.’ Unfortunately, we did not receive a positive response to this.”
Erdoğan repeated that a U.N.-facilitated political process was key to resolving the conflict, a point he said he discussed with U.N. chief Antonio Guterres.
As thousands flee city of Homs
Muslim News gathered that tens of thousands of people are fleeing Syria’s third-largest city Homs amid reports that rebels are closing in, just over a week since they launched their lightning offensive.
The rebels seized Hama to the north on Thursday, a second major blow to President Bashar al Assad who lost control of Aleppo last week.
The leader of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, told residents of Homs “your time has come”.
Erdoğan’s efforts for Ankara-Damascus rapprochement
Recall that in November, President Erdoğan said that he is still “hopeful” about President Assad for a potential Ankara-Damascus rapprochement.
“I am still hopeful about Assad. I still hope we can come together and put Syria-Turkiye relations back on track, God willing,” Erdogan told reporters on his flight back to Turkiye from Azerbaijan after attending the COP29 climate summit.
“We have extended our hand to the Syrian side for normalization. We believe that this normalization will open the door to peace and stability in Syrian territories,” Erdogan said.
‘We will continue our assistance’
Concerning Lebanon, Erdogan highlighted the country’s dire circumstances, saying: “Lebanon is in a very difficult situation. Everything is in ruins. There are requests for help. During a time when the world is silent, we will continue our assistance.”
Calling for unity in Lebanon, the president reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to supporting the crisis-stricken nation.
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