Leaders urge diplomacy in Syria

Germany, Turkey denounce Russian strikes near Aleppo

Displaced Syrians walk Monday through a temporary refugee camp in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey.
Displaced Syrians walk Monday through a temporary refugee camp in northern Syria, near the border with Turkey.

ANKARA, Turkey -- As tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing violence massed at Turkey's border, Turkish and German leaders pledged Monday to redouble diplomatic efforts to end the fighting around Syria's largest city, Aleppo, and prevent more refugees from making their way into Europe.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with Turkey's prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, that she was "not just appalled but horrified" by the suffering caused by the bombing in Syria, primarily by Russia.

Merkel said Turkey and Germany would push at the United Nations for all sides to adhere to a U.N. resolution passed in December that calls for an immediate halt to attacks on civilians in Syria.

Merkel was in Ankara for talks on how to reduce the influx of migrants into Europe, mostly via a boat crossing from Turkey to Greece. Turkey's coast guard said Monday that another 27 migrants had died after their boat capsized while trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.

Her visit came after a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive around Aleppo sent up to 35,000 Syrians fleeing toward the border with Turkey in recent days.

Turkey has taken in 2.5 million Syrian refugees since the conflict began, and authorities say the country has reached its capacity to absorb them. The border crossing remained closed for a fourth day on Monday, and aid groups continued to provide assistance to the Syrians massed at a displaced persons camp nearby.

Syrian army troops, meanwhile, recaptured another village north of Aleppo on Monday, taking troops and allied militiamen to within a few miles of the Turkish border.

State-run news agency SANA said army troops took control of the village of Kfeen in the northern countryside of Aleppo "after wiping out the last group of terrorists there."

The army gains have allowed troops to almost fully encircle Aleppo, Syria's largest city and one-time commercial center, preparing the way for a blockade. The main supply line to the Turkish border has already been cut, and many residents of the city were looking to leave, anticipating severe shortages in the coming days.

Aleppo "is de facto under siege. We are on the verge of a new human tragedy," Davutoglu said.

"No one should excuse or show tolerance toward the Russian air attacks that amount to ethnic massacres by saying, 'Turkey takes care of the Syrian refugees anyway,'" Davutoglu said. "No one can expect Turkey to take on the burden on its own."

Added Merkel: "We have been, in the past few days, not just appalled but horrified by what has been caused in the way of human suffering for tens of thousands of people by bombing -- primarily from the Russian side."

"Under such circumstances, it's hard for peace talks to take place, and so this situation must be brought to an end quickly," Merkel said.

Hussein Bakri, an official in the interim government set up by the Syrian opposition, said more than 70,000 people had been displaced from Aleppo. Bakri urged the international community to "shoulder the responsibility of protecting the Syrian people by stopping the Russian bombing."

"If the situation continues like this, it will lead to the displacement of up to 400,000 people from Aleppo province and from Aleppo city," Bakri said. "It is clear that the Russians are aiming for the encirclement and to lay siege to Aleppo as has happened in other parts of Syria."

The European Union has urged Turkey to open its border and let in the thousands fleeing the Aleppo onslaught. But Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said after a Cabinet meeting Monday that Turkey's priority is to keep the fleeing Syrians within the borders of their country "and provide them with assistance there."

Merkel and Davutoglu said Germany and Turkey would work together to provide aid to the refugees at the border.

Another top Turkish government official reacted angrily to the EU pressure on Turkey to open its doors to the Syrian refugees, yet seal them for migrants trying to leave Turkey and reach the EU via the water crossing into Greece.

"On the one hand they say 'Open your borders, take everyone in,' and on the other hand they say, 'Close your border, don't let anyone through,'" Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said.

The deepening humanitarian crisis in Syria was further highlighted by a U.N. report Monday that said thousands of detainees held by the Syrian government have been executed, beaten to death or otherwise left to die on a scale that amounts to "extermination" under international law. The U.N.-backed Commission of Inquiry on Syria called for "targeted sanctions" against high-ranking Syrian officials responsible for such crimes, but did not name any suspects. It also documented mass killings by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.

Canada to end strikes in Syria

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that his country will end airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq by Feb. 22, saying that "the people terrorized by ISIL every day don't need our vengeance, they need our help."

Trudeau, following up on campaign promises he made last year, also announced that the government will expand efforts to train local forces and rebuild the war-torn region. Military personnel in the region will increase to 830 from the current 650 and provide planning, targeting and intelligence expertise.

"While airstrike operations can be very useful to achieve short-term military and territorial gains, they do not on their own achieve long-term stability for local communities," Trudeau said during a news conference Monday. The country had six fighter jets carrying out the strikes.

Canada will keep two surveillance planes in the region as well as refueling aircraft, and it will triple the number of soldiers training Kurdish troops in northern Iraq to about 200, from about 69 now. The size of Canada's "train, advise and assist" mission will include additional medical personnel and equipment including small arms, ammunition and optics to assist in training Iraqi security forces.

Information for this article was contributed by Dominique Soguel, Zeina Karam, Charmaine Noronha and Robert Burns of the Associated Press.

A Section on 02/09/2016

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