Turkey reiterates 'humanitarian' concerns about Aleppo

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reiterated his “humanitarian” concerns over the conflict in Syria's Aleppo.

In his remarks to Lebanese LBCI television channel on Monday, Cavusoglu said: “Turkey fights all terror groups, Ankara’s concern is humanitarian.”

The allegations that Turkey backs the al-Nusra Front -- an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria -- are “unacceptable, ugly and irrational”, he said.

“First of all, Aleppo is not Turkey’s territory. We are not combatting any country or regime in Aleppo. We are totally in support of territorial integrity,” he added.

“This is not just Turkey’s issue. We [...] cannot be indifferent to what’s happening. We continue to defend the rights of defenseless people not just in Aleppo, but all over the world,” he said.

Around 300,000 civilians in eastern Aleppo have been reeling under a crippling regime-imposed siege for more than three months.

Since mid-November, more than 773 civilians have been killed -- and 2,500 others injured -- in regime attacks on the area, according to figures released by local civil defense officials.

The fierce bombardments have forced hospitals and other medical facilities in the war-battered city to cease operations while most academic activities have been completely halted.

The stepped-up attacks come within the context of attempts by the Russian-backed Bashar al-Assad regime and its allies to wrest control of eastern parts of the city, four years after they were captured by armed opposition groups.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.