Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized Syrian forces' crackdown on protesters as "savagery" and suggested the violence could force Turkey to back any U.N. Security Council resolutions against the country.

The stance is a strong turnaround in Turkey's position toward Syria. Until now, Erdogan has urged President Bashar Assad to carry out widespread reforms and avoided any direct criticism of the regime.

Syrian troops backed by dozens of tanks on Friday massed outside a virtually deserted town near the Turkish border Friday preparing to move in after protesters and mutinous forces rose up against Assad's rule.

Around 2,700 people have fled into Turkey and some have depicted a week of revolt and mayhem in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, just across the border.

Erdogan said in an interview with ATV television late Thursday that images coming out of Syria were "unpalatable." He accused Assad of taking the situation too lightly and his younger brother -- who is in charge of Syrian forces -- of inhumane behaviour.

"I say this clearly and openly: From a humanitarian point of view, his brother (Maher Assad) is not behaving in a humane manner. And he is chasing after savagery," Erdogan said. The interview was posted on the Internet.

"Out of necessity, this is putting the UN Security Council into operation. There are preparations going on there. In the face of this, we as Turkey, cannot continue to (speak in favour of) Syria."

Four European nations this week presented a revised resolution to the United Nations condemning Syria for the crackdown.