ANKARA, April 6, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - Turkey on Wednesday joined the global
condemnation of the murder of civilians in the town of Bucha and other cities
in Ukraine, and called for an independent investigation.

  "The images of the massacre, which have been published in the press from
various regions including Bucha and Irpin near Kyiv, are appalling and sad
for humanity," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

  Aside from a tweeted message by the Turkish embassy in Ukraine on Monday,
it was the first official reaction from Turkey after dozens of bodies were
found in mass graves or littering the streets near the Ukrainian capital over
the weekend.

  The Kremlin has rejected accusations that Russian forces were responsible
for killing civilians near Kyiv and suggested images of corpses were "fakes".

  The Ukrainian army retook control of the key commuter town of Bucha outside
Kyiv just a few days ago and said it had found dozens of bodies after Russian
forces pulled out.

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the killings "war crimes"
and "genocide" and Western countries have ramped up sanctions against Russia
in reaction to the deaths.

  But the Kremlin has denied the accusations and claimed the images emerging
from Bucha and other towns are fakes produced by Ukrainian forces, or that
the deaths occurred after Russian soldiers pulled out.

  "Targeting innocent civilians is unacceptable," the Turkish foreign
ministry said.

  "It is our main expectation that the matter will be subject to an
independent investigation and that those responsible will be identified and
held accountable."

  Turkey will continue to work to stop "such shameful scenes in the name of
humanity," it added.

  NATO member Turkey, which has strong ties to both Russia and Ukraine, has
been mediating for an end to the conflict.