ANKARA (AA) -Turkey strongly condemned Sunday attacks by pro-regime forces in Syria's coastal town of Baniyas and in the village of al-Bayda which opposition activists had said killed hundreds of people including women and children.
A statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the killings amounted to "a crime against humanity" and a sign that the Syrian regime had begun "a campaign of ethnic cleansing."
"Turkey condemns this atrocity in the strongest possible terms, and calls on international community to halt these acts that defy international law and universal principles," the statement said.
The ministry said most of the dead were women and children and many of the victims had their throats slit and their remains were set afire.
The ministry said the Syrian regime used "ballistic missiles" in its attacks on its own people and there were indications that the regime had deployed chemical weapons.
It said the Syrian regime and its policies posed a serious threat to peace and security in the region, adding that "certain sides" were complicit in the crimes by extending all forms of support to the regime.
