Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told he desires the “real sons of Syria” will react to an armed attack the Syrian regime is getting ready to set in motion in Aleppo.
“The regime is steeling itself for an plan of attack with tanks and helicopters in the city center of Aleppo. It is not clear what will come about nowadays. The foreign minister and I’ve been coming after the developments. I desire that the regime gets the answer it deserves from Syria’s own sons,” Erdoğan told in answer to questions from reporters on Friday in London.
President Bashar al-Assad’s heavy weapon pounded rebel-held areas around Aleppo on Friday, preparing the ground for an attack on Syria’s biggest city. Syrian government troops based on the outskirts of the city unleashed barrages of heavy-caliber mortar rounds on its western neighborhoods, while Russian-built MI-25 helicopter gunships struck in the east, opposition activists in the city told.
The heavy fighting abides by a bold bomb attack that killed 4 of Assad’s closest lieutenants in Damascus on July 18, a development that led some analysts to speculate that the government’s grip was slipping.