PM vows to ‘destroy’ terrorists in Turkey, Syria

By Yildiz Aktas, Sinan Uslu and Mumin Altas

KILIS, Turkey

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed Saturday to destroy all terrorists in Turkey and Syria.

Addressing Syrian refugees gathered in Turkey's southern province of Kilis, Binali Yildirim said terrorists would "pay the price for what they have done, even if the world keeps silent about it".

Yildirim also said Turkey had spent $25 billion helping Syrian refugees so far, and urged Europe to do more.

"Europeans, other countries are just patting our backs. [Saying] ‘You have done well, thank you, you are very kind.’

“Leave your advice and lend a hand," Yildirim said.

Stating that one out of every five refugees in the world is Syrian, Yildirim said Turkey was proud to host three out of every five refugees forced to flee the war-torn country.

Yildirim said around 500,000 Syrians had lost their lives and more than two million had been wounded in the ongoing war since 2011.

"It is destroying a nation, a civilization. Strong countries, sadly, took sides with the persecution when they needed to be with justice," he said.

Yildirim said bombed cities, destroyed buildings and dead people were evidence of this, stressing that the "so-called powerful countries, unfortunately, in this regard they have become silent".

Syrian children welcomed Yildirim with flowers at the accommodation center where he was speaking. After his speech, the prime minister met some Syrian families at the center in an encounter which was closed to the press.

Turkey is sheltering close to 260,000 Syrian nationals across 26 temporary housing facilities equipped with schools, hospitals and athletic facilities. Well over two million others live in Turkish cities, according to latest official figures.

Syria has been locked in a devastating war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than 10 million people have been displaced across the war-torn country, according to the UN