Erdogan: US strike in Syria not enough, further steps needed

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday welcomed the US strike on an airbase of the Syrian government but said it was not enough and more action was needed.

"I want to say that I welcome this concrete step as positive," Erdogan, a longtime foe of President Bashar al-Assad, said in a rally in the southern city of Antakya just north of the Syrian border. 

"Is it enough? I don't see this as enough... the time has come for steps for a serious result to protect the oppressed Syrian people," he added.

US President Donald Trump ordered the missile strike in retaliation for the suspected chemical weapons attack in the town of Khan Sheikhun in northwestern Syria's Idlib province that killed dozens and was blamed by many world leaders on Assad.

Erdogan reaffirmed his past calls that international community needed to impose a safe zone in northern Syria - which Ankara has said should be backed by a no-fly zone - to ensure security in the area.

"We again say how important it is for a terror-free safe zone to be created," he told thousands of supporters in the city.

He added: "I want to state something clearly: while children are being massacred in this world, no one has the right to feel themselves safe or in peace."