Syrian National Council

A regime change in Syria through a planned transition process, which envisages elections and a new constitution, is required for a political solution in the country, Syrian Turkmen Assembly Chair Mehmet Türkhan said on March 13.

The Syrian Constitutional Committee -- made up of opposition, civil society, and regime members -- began its work on Oct. 30 in Geneva with UN facilitation.

More than 400,000 Syrian babies have been born in Turkey since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, said an official from Turkey's Interior Ministry.

Turkish foreign minister will attend the UN Human Rights Council scheduled to be held in Geneva on Feb. 25-27, the ministry said on Feb. 24.

(continued from Divided, Depleted and Dispirited - The Syrians of Bulgaria)

The Syrian opposition in Bulgaria argues it successfully pushed Sofia to take its side as the crisis deepened back home.

Foreign Ministry undersecretary Ümit Yalçın has called on representatives of Turkmen communities in Iraq and Syria, saying Ankara backs their resistance.

"Your cause is ours. If we are strong here, you will be strong there too," Yalçın said at a panel on Dec. 14 that convened representatives of Syrian and Iraqi Turkmens. 

Some 1,635 migrants, mainly women, children and elderly people, crossed into Turkey on Jan. 29 and 30 from Syria, after leaving their camp across the border due to rising security risks, as the Russian and Bashar al-Assad forces' bombardment of Turkmen villages continued.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has hosted delegations from the Bay?rbucak Turkmens and the Syrian Turkmen Assembly in separate meetings, while the United Nations' special envoy for Syria also paid a brief visit to the Turkish capital.

Turkmen forces in northwestern Syria have seized back control of K?z?lda? Hill on Jabal al-Turkmen (Turkmen Mountain) while also pushing back military units affiliated to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, capturing two tanks in the process.

Turkmen regions in Syria's northwest are continuing to come under heavy attack by Russian-backed Syrian forces as government forces have taken back the K?z?lda? area that is home to Turkmens.