Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan Calls Syria Terrorist State

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Syria has "become a terrorist state" in another condemnation of his embattled former ally President Bashar al-Assad.

"The massacres in Syria that gain strength from the international community's indifference are continuing to increase," Erdogan told a meeting of his ruling AK Party.

Erdogan pointed out that Syria was "not an ordinary country to us" and Turkey could not remain indifferent to the massacres.

He accused Assad's regime of committing mass murders against its own people.

Turkey has repeatedly asked the UN Security Council to set up a safe area inside Syria to protect thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war.

The issue has gained momentum among the international community after the number of refugees in Turkey exceeded 80,000. Up to 200,000 more people could eventually flee Syria for sanctuary in Turkey, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Meanwhile another leading critic of the Syrian regime, Egypt's president Mohammed Mursi, has stated that Assad must learn from "recent history" and step down before it is too late.

In citing historical lessons, Mursi appeared to be referring to the uprisings in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen during the so-called Arab Spring of 2011.

Last year, Erdogan himself cited historical precedents in reminding Assad of the tragic ends of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Muammar Gaddafi.

"If you cannot draw any lessons from them, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed in a manner none of us would wish for and who used the same expression you used," he addressed Assad.

Earlier, on a visit to Iran for the Non-Aligned Summit, Morsi hailed "brave" Syrians for their fighting against Assad's "oppressive regime" and restated that Egypt is ready to aid the Syrian revolution