TRIPOLI, Sept 16: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stepped up his rhetoric against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Friday, saying those in Syria who inflict repression on the people will not survive.

Mr Erdogan, who is visiting Libya, told a cheering crowd in Tripoli's Martyrs' Square, formerly Green Square, that by ousting Muammar Qadhafi the Libyan people had set an example to others seeking to throw off oppression.

“You are the ones who showed the whole world that no administration can stand in the way of the might and will of the people,” Mr Erdogan said, as people chanted “Turkey, Turkey.”

“Do not forget this: those in Syria who inflict repression on the people will not be able to stand on their feet because oppression and prosperity cannot exist together.”

Mr Erdogan, who had already received a rapturous welcome in Egypt and Tunisia, was greeted by crowds of people in the same square where Qadhafi delivered some of his fiercest speeches to rally support against the rebellion.

He attended Friday prayers in the square alongside hundreds of people and chairman of Libya's National Transitional Council Mustafa Abdel Jalil.—Reuters