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Aya Abdulhay, 5, whose family fled their Aleppo home, takes refuge at the Bab Al-Salameh border crossing in hopes of entering one of the refugee camps in Turkey. Muhammed Muheisen/AP/Press Association Images

No Syria buffer zone possible without UN resolution, says Turkish PM

Erdogan says Assad’s “political life is over” but Turkey cannot move to create safe zones for refugees inside Syria without UN backing.

TURKISH PRIME Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said no steps could be taken to create safe zones to protect refugees inside Syria without a UN resolution.

“We cannot take such a step without any resolution at the UN Security Council,” Erdogan told Kanal Turk television channel.

His remarks came a day after Foreign Minister Davutoglu told the UN Security Council to “act without delay” to set up safe havens, warning that 80,000 Syrians were already in camps in Turkey, with 4,000 crossing the border daily.

But world powers failed to reach an agreement over Ankara’s proposal which would imply authorising a highly controversial protective military operation.

Erdogan said creating a buffer zone without a no-fly zone would be very risky.

“You cannot create a buffer zone without a no-fly zone in place,” he said. Turkey is home to more than 80,000 refugees and officials say around 20,000 Syrians are also living in flats or hotels around the country.

And thousands have been stranded on other side of the border waiting to be accommodated in camps yet to be built by the Turks.

Erdogan’s government has been at the forefront of international criticism of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad whose deadly crackdown on popular dissent has claimed more than 25,000 lives since protests erupted last year.

“Turkey is siding with the Syrian people, not with the cruel Bashar al-Assad regime,” said Erdogan.

“In my opinion, Assad’s political life is over.”

- (c) AFP, 2012

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    Mute Mad Gerald
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    Jun 8th 2011, 8:13 PM

    Ahmadinejad is a religious fanatic who claims to have direct conversations with Allah and the Twelfth Imam.He was involved in mass suicide charges in the Iran-Iraq war.He gave kids keys to paradise and sent them into the minefileds.In other words a total nutter who now has rockets which can reach Europe and will soon have his hands on a nuclear bomb and Korean made ICBM’s. The Saudis are very afraid of this development.

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    Mute Toureag
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    Jun 9th 2011, 1:08 AM

    Israel, any idea when might you bomb to disable the continue of building of nuclear plants in Iran?

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    Mute Michael Dolan
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    Jun 8th 2011, 11:59 PM

    My money’s on Iran getting bombed this side of Hanukah.

    But it’s all about protecting the civilians.

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
    Favourite Patrick Murphy
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    Jun 9th 2011, 2:13 AM

    If Israel bombs Iran it’s world war 3. Who wants that, I not saying Iran is perfect. Even the former head of Mossad said it’s a stupid idea.

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