Syrian Revolution - 7:52 AM - Public
The United States and Turkey are in "full agreement" on the next steps on Syria as world leaders continue trying to stop a year-long massacre.
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Top defector joins Syrian opposition
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: At least 23 people are killed across Syria on Sunday, opposition activists say
- Obama and Erdogan talk about providing medical supplies, communications equipment to the Syrian opposition
- Both leaders say there should be a process for transitioning to a "legitimate government"
- The Syrian military pounds Homs, looking for defectors, opposition activists say
(CNN) -- The United States and Turkey a
(CNN) -- The United States and Turkey are in "full agreement" on the next steps on Syria as world leaders continue trying to stop the year-long massacre that has killed thousands.
U.S. President Barack Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday in South Korea, ahead of this week's nuclear summit in Seoul.
The meeting was aimed at "syncing up" with Turkey -- a former Syrian ally -- before Istanbul hosts the next "Friends of Syria" meeting on April 1, a senior Obama administration official said. A goal of that conference is to exert pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime for its brutal crackdown on civilians.
Obama and Erdogan expect the upcoming conference to enhance ways to provide "non-lethal" aid to the opponents of the Syrian regime, such as medical supplies and communications equipment, said Ben Rhodes, a U.S. deputy national security advisor.
"We cannot be spectators," Erdogan said Sunday.
He noted that 17,000 refugees have fled from Syria to Turkey.
Obama said he and Erdogan "are very much in agreement that there should be a process" to transition to a "legitimate government." He also pledged to keep pursuing humanitarian aid as reports of carnage at the hands of the al-Assad regime mount daily.
While world leaders struggle to help end the violence, at least 23 people were killed across Syria on Sunday, opposition activists said.
The Syrian military continued pounding various neighborhoods in Homs, looking for rebel Free Syrian Army fighters and defectors, according to the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria.
Government security forces also carried out raids in the southern city of Nawa, resulting in the deaths of five defected soldiers and three members of al-Assad's security forces, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Nawa, in Daraa province, is where the popular uprising against al-Assad's rule erupted last March.
More than a dozen civilians were killed elsewhere in areas such as Homs, Aleppo, Hama and Idlib, said the Syrian Network for Human Rights, another opposition group.
The latest violence comes after a top defector from the Syrian military said armed rebel groups have aligned under the leadership of the Free Syrian Army.
Uniting all efforts will bolster the anti-regime movement and safeguard the nation, Brig. Gen. Mustafa Sheikh said in a video posted on YouTube.
The move addressed a key concern for observers of the Syrian crisis both inside and outside the country -- that armed rebel groups were disjointed and divided.
Sheikh was one of the first high-ranking officers to announce his defection from President Bashar al-Assad's forces. He was accompanied in the video by Free Syrian Army commander Col. Riad al-Asaad.
"In these critical and difficult times that our beloved country is going through, all the honorable men and women in this nation are required to work on uniting all efforts to overthrow this corrupt regime," Sheikh said. "The soldiers and officers of the Free Syrian Army pledged their allegiance to protect the people and the nation."
The unification also allows rebels to unilaterally deny attacks carried out by other groups. The Syrian government routinely blames the vaguely defined "armed terrorist groups" for violence in the country, while most reports from inside Syria indicate the government is slaughtering civilians in an attempt to wipe out dissidents.
CNN cannot independently confirm reports of casualties or attacks in Syria because the government severely restricts access by international journalists.
The United Nations estimates the Syrian conflict has killed more than 8,000 people; opposition activists put the toll at more than 10,000.
On Sunday, United Nations-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan was in Moscow to seek help from Russia -- a long-time ally of al-Assad -- in helping reach a cease-fire in Syria. The former U.N. secretary-general will also visit Beijing, his spokesman said.
Russia and China have blocked U.N. Security Council attempts to pass resolutions condemning the al-Assad regime. The two countries say they want the violence to stop, but would not blame the bloodshed squarely on the regime.
CNN's Saad Abedine and Brianna Keilar contributed to this report.
