MOSCOW, March 31. /TASS/. Turkish border forces that shoot refugees on the border with Syria should be brought to justice if these reports are confirmed, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov told TASS on Thursday.
"We are seriously concerned about the information that appeared in the media on this matter," Dolgov said. "If reports are confirmed, it will be necessary to conduct thorough investigation, including possibly in the international format, to bring those guilty of such humanitarian crime to justice," he added.
"This is among other flagrant violations of human rights that are permitted by Turkish authorities on the Turkish territory during the military operation against Kurds and on the territory of sovereign Syria," the diplomat noted.
The Times wrote in an article published on March 31 that "Turkish border forces are shooting refugees dead as they flee the civil war in Syria." "Sixteen migrants, including three children, were killed by guards as they crossed into Turkey over the past four months, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring organization," The Times added.