Turkish premier calls Syria airstrikes ‘positive step’

By Nilay Kar Onum

ISTANBUL

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim welcomed on Saturday the U.S.-led airstrikes targeting the Assad regime in Syria, terming them as a “positive step”.

Speaking at the sixth ordinary congress of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Istanbul, Yildirim said: “We see this [U.S.-led airstrikes] as a positive step but more needs to be done for lasting peace.

“People in Syria have been slaughtered for seven years. The atrocity has been continuing.

"Does your humanity come to your mind only when chemical weapons are used? Where were you until today?” he asked.

The U.S., U.K. and France jointly launched strikes targeting the Assad regime's alleged chemical weapons research center near Damascus, a chemical weapons warehouse and a command center linked to chemical weapons located west of Homs, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford said at a joint news conference with American Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

The White Helmets, a civil defense agency, blamed the Assad regime for an alleged chemical attack earlier this month, which it said killed 78 civilians and injured hundreds of others.