Turkey: Russia is occupying Syria and targeting civilians

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Russia occupies Syria, stressing that the vast majority of Moscow’s strikes in the country are against civilians.

“For years, Russia has opposed any foreign intervention in Syria, and now it is intervening directly and in a very negative way to the extent that it even occupies Syria,” Davutoglu said in a CNN interview.

“Ninety per cent of the Russian operations in Syria are against civilians and the moderate opposition in Idlib, Aleppo and Homs, Latakia and against schools and hospitals. We know that because all the wounded as a result of Russian bombardments are fleeing to Turkey,” he explained, adding “only ten per cent of the Russian raids target Daesh.”

The Turkish prime minister said his country expects Russia to respect Syrian civilians and not to force them to flee to Turkey.

Asked if Bashar Al-Assad was winning, Davutoglu said: “No, he will not win, no Syrian will agree to return to his country as long as Assad remains in Damascus.”

The Syrian opposition, including the National Coalition and activists, use the term “occupation” to describe the Russian presence in Syria, while Moscow saysits intervened at the request of the Assad regime.

International and local human rights organisations and activists report that hundreds of Syrians have been killed and infrastructure destroyed as a result of the Russian military intervention in Syria.