Turkey condemns attacks against Syrian opposition figures

Turkey has condemned the "loathsome assassination" of top Kurdish activist Mishaal al-Tammo as well as attacks against leading opposition figures in Syria, the foreign ministry said.

"We strongly condemn the attempts aiming to suppress the Syrian opposition and the increase in attacks targeting main representatives of the opposition," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement posted on its web site late on Saturday.

Turkey is deeply sorry for the "loathsome assassination" of Tammo, as well as the wounding of prominent dissident Riad Seif who was injured after being beaten on Friday in Damascus, the statement said.

"Turkey expects the Syrian government to realise as soon as possible that practices of violence aiming to suppress the Syrian opposition will not reverse the course of history," it said.

Al-Tammo was gunned down on Friday in city of Qamishli in north Syria and his funeral became a mass rally with more than 50,000 demonstrators calling for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime, activists have said.