Turkey's all-women convoy to speak out for Syrian women

An all-women convoy will set off from Istanbul next week to raise awareness about the suffering of women imprisoned in Syria under regime forces.

Nearly 150 buses will take part in the journey, which will make stops at the Turkish cities of Izmir, Sakarya, Ankara and Adana before reaching southern Hatay province at the Turkey-Syria border.

The International Conscience Convoy which describes itself as the "voice of the oppressed women in Syria" will see participation from 55 countries.

"We as women from Turkey and around the world are joining the Conscience Convoy to raise voice for Syrian women, who have been unlawfully held and tortured in Syrian prisons," according to a statement on Thursday.

"On March 8, which marks International Women's Day, we will call out to the entire world from Hatay," it added.

The convoy will carry 6,536 embroidered scarves to represent each imprisoned Syrian woman.

Civil society representatives who are supporting the convoy have invited everybody to join them.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011, when the Bashar al Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.