Turkey's prime minister has described Syria's crackdown on protesters as 'savagery' and accused the country's president of taking the situation "too lightly".
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview on ATV television late on Thursday that some images coming out of neighbouring Syria were 'unpalatable' and suggested Turkey could support a UN Security Council decision against Syria.
His comments were carried by the Anatolia news agency on Friday.
Erdogan, who has developed a friendship with President Bashar Assad, had previously refrained from openly criticising the 11-week long crackdown, urging the Syrian leader to enact reforms. The turnaround comes after about 2500 Syrian refugees streamed into Turkey.
Erdogan said: "They are not acting in a humane manner. This is savagery", AP reported.
CNN reported Erdogan as saying 2,400 Syrians had fled into Turkey in recent days.
The news came as Syrian state television said the army has begun operations in a restive northern town near the Turkish border.
Unconfirmed reports on Twitter cited witnesses saying that tanks were moving towards the town and firing at villages as they went.
The government says the operation aims to restore security in Jisr al-Shughour, where authorities say 120 officers and security personnel were killed by "armed groups" last week.
A Syrian reporter accompanying the army says troops backed by tanks are on the outer edges of the town, ready to enter.
The military operations are part of a crackdown on an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad that started in mid-March.
Meanwhile pro-democracy activists are vowing to stage more protests against Assad, as his regime comes under mounting international pressure over accusations of massacres.
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