Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoganAFP/File

The international community is practically giving a green light to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to kill hundreds of people every day in his country, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

“So what is the source of this attitude? If we have to wait for what one or two of the permanent members of the UN Security Council will say, then the consequences for Syria will be very dangerous,” Erdogan told participants at the Istanbul World Forum, according to a report in the Turkish daily Hurriyet.

Erdogan said that despite all efforts, the UN Security Council had not properly taken stock of the human drama that has been continuing in Syria for the past 20 months.

“More than 30,000 people have been killed in Syria; 250,000 people have had to leave their homes and flee. Some 100,000 of these people are in Turkey right now – they are our guests here,” he said.

Erdogan criticized the international community and the Security Council for not taking action in Syria.

“The UN, which was an onlooker to the massacres of hundreds of thousands of people in the Balkans 20 years ago, is having the same kind of blindness in Syria today. What kind of explanation can be made for the injustice and the inability that is being displayed here?” he said.

“While tens of hundreds of people are being killed every day in Syria, as long there are still those who think about what gain they can get from the Syrian situation, the face of humanity will continue to get red,” Erdogan said.

He said there was injustice in many international organizations, including the UN Security Council.

“Nobody can claim that the U.N. Security Council is built upon a fair structure. We have left the world to the mercy of five permanent members – whatever they say happens. The UN has to be reformed in line with justice,” said Erdogan.

Tensions between Turkey and Syria have been high lately. The tension began when a Syrian mortar landed in Turkish territory, killing five civilians in Akcakale.

The Turkish army responded by attacking several targets in Syria. Turkey's parliament later gave the government the green light to use military force against Syria if necessary.

On Wednesday, Turkey intercepted a Syrian Airbus A320 flying from Moscow to Damascus and escorted it to the Esenboga Airport in Ankara.

Turkey later claimed it had seized "objectionable cargo" aboard the Syrian passenger plane. Syria, in turn, accused Turkey of lying.