Turkish PM Urge Citizens to Welcome Syrians Despite Attack

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday visited his country's volatile border with war-torn Syria, urging citizens to keep welcoming refugees after deadly bombings early this month fueled local resentment.

"We should help our brothers in need. They are here because they believe in us and they have confidence in us," he told residents of Reyhanli, a small south-eastern border town where 51 people were killed and about 100 injured in twin car bombings on May 11.

"Otherwise no one will leave his house (in Syria). So we have to open our arms to our brothers in need," said Erdogan.

Turkish police moved in to protect Syrian refugees a day after the bombings as residents of Reyhanli turned their anger on them. Cars with Syrian plates were vandalized and angry residents called on the refugees to leave their town.

A fierce opponent of Bashar Assad's regime, Erdogan also brought a message for the Syrians, telling them not to be afraid as "the day of deliverance is near".

"Opposition forces will overthrow the dictator," he said.

Turkey has blamed a radical Marxist group affiliated with Assad's regime for the attack. Damascus has denied the allegation.

Turkey cut contact with former ally Damascus after its calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict -- which is now in its third year and has left more than 80,000 people dead -- went unheeded.

Ankara has sided with the rebels fighting to topple Assad's regime and has taken in around 400,000 refugees as well as army defectors and repeatedly called on the international community to act on the unfolding crisis.