War of words escalates against Assad

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used extremely harsh language against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, calling him a “mute devil” as war of words against one of Israel’s main enemies escalates.

Erdogan made the remarks on Sunday during a speech at a government communications forum in the United Arab Emirates, which has joined Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in backing foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government.

“We will not remain silent in the face of…the mute devil, who mercilessly carried out massacres against his own people,” Erdogan told the gathering in Sharjah, just north of Dubai.

Erdogan urged world leaders to denounce what he called attacks on civilians by the government of Assad.

The comments came just hours before US Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to begin his first official overseas trip. Kerry is expected to talk with NATO allies, including Turkey on Syria.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.