Protesters storm Syrian consulate in Istanbul

About 400 Turkish and Syrian protesters threw objects and tried to storm the Syrian consulate in Turkey's city of Istanbul on Sunday. Demonstrators chanted slogans against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in front of the consulate located in the chic district of Nisantasi, downtown of Istanbul. The attack on the consulate happened following the news of the Homs shelling, which the Syrian opposition said had claimed the lives of over 200 civilians. Homs is one of the main centers of opposition to the Syrian president. Damascus has denied its security forces attacked Homs. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a statement in response to the Homs attack, calling on the United Nations to take a clear and precise position on the subject of civilian losses. Ankara has broken with its once close ally Damascus, and is now strongly backing the Syrian opposition.