Several hundred
Turkish and Syrian
protesters held an anti-Russia demonstration in Istanbul on Saturday against intensified
Russian and regime bombardment in Syria's rebel bastion of Idlib.
![Scores in Turkey protest Russia over Idlib assault](http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/5c9657cee9d8778b2cc98fbc39835da2c88a9e78.jpg)
The protesters -- mostly Syrians living in
Turkey -- gathered close to the Russian consulate in Istanbul, shouting "Murderer Putin, get out of Syria!", referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since mid-December, regime forces and their Russian allies have heightened bombardment on the southern edge of the final major opposition-held pocket of
Syria, eight years into the country's devastating war.