Members of the Union of Turkish Youth hold Turkish, Syrian and Palestinian flags as they stage an anti-war protest and condemn the Turkish government’s policy on Syria, in Ankara. (file photo)

On Thursday, the demonstrators gathered outside Turkey’s Incirlik air base — a strategic site for the United States Air Force and less than an hour’s flying time from the Syrian border — to show their opposition to any military strike on the Arab country.

Waving placards reading “No to War” and “Syria is a Brotherly Nation,” the demonstrators also urged Ankara not to participate in any military intervention in Syria.

The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said on Wednesday that the West is seeking to turn Syria into a second Iraq and that the issue of chemical weapons use is only a pretext for war.

On August 27, US Vice President Joe Biden said there is “no doubt” that the Syrian government used chemical weapons and that it must be held accountable.

US allies, notably Britain, France and Turkey, have also accused Syria of using chemical weapons.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the violence.

MN/MHB