Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu publicly expressed concern for the first time on May 7 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is taking steps to divide the country.
Speaking to the Turkish media on Tuesday [May 7] in London, Davutoglu argued that Assad has attacked the Sunni population in Baniyas to cleanse this part of the land for Alawite domination. "The Syrian regime is trying to clear a corridor between Homs and Lebanon," said Davutoglu. "In the Baniyas massacre, what concerns us is this: Considering that it's not possible to control the whole country, [Assad] has switched to a strategy of ethnically cleansing some areas, and to gain power there. This is what's discussed as plan B on the agenda, a strategy built upon ethnically cleansing [a part of the land] to open space and corridor for a certain sect."
