More than 1,000 Syrians and Turks staged a rally here on Friday in a protest against the Syrian government over its latest "crackdown" on the oppositions.

The protesters gathered in front of the Beyazit Mosque in Istanbul, chanting anti-Syrian government slogans and demanding the stepping down of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey, once an ally to Syria and its neighbor, has become a base for the Syrian oppositions.

The demonstration came after the Syrian oppositions claimed the government forces shelled one of their neighborhoods and killed scores of people in Homs, one of the opposition hubs in the country.

Damascus has denied such allegations but the denial did little to quell the anger of protesters in Istanbul

Ankara, which has broken off from Damascus, now strongly backs the Syrian oppositions.

According to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey shelters up to 10,000 Syrian refugees who are fleeing the crisis back home.

Erdogan also said the priority of the Friends of Syria meeting set to take place next week in Tunisia should be "to support the Arab League initiative" on the Syrian crisis.