Turkish PM reiterates call for Syria safe zone

By Burcu Calik

HAKKARI, Turkey (AA) - Prime Minister Binali Yildirim reiterated on Friday his call for a safe zone to be established in war-torn Syria.

“The truth is revealed one more time; a safe zone in northern Syria should absolutely be formed and Syrians who are fleeing from the war should be secured there,” Yildirim told a crowd at an inauguration ceremony in Turkey’s southeastern province of Hakkari.

“We reiterate our proposal to the international community, and we are also making preparations on the issue in our own capacity,” he added.

Yildirim also said Turkey supported and welcomed what he termed the U.S. “response” to Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack in Idlib.

U.S. forces fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian military air base which American officials believe was used to carry out the deadly chemical attack on Tuesday.

More than 100 civilians were reportedly killed and 500 others -- mostly children -- were injured in Tuesday's attack on Khan Shaykhun town in Syria’s northwest.

Yildirim said Syria needed a “permanent, political solution” to end the brutality of the six-year civil war.

Last month, the UN’s Syria envoy said the Geneva V peace talks had ended with "serious challenges" remaining to find a peace deal.