World condemn Syrian cross-border shelling into Turkish territory
ISTANBUL
British Foreign Secretary William Hague (L) and United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R). EPA Photo
This evening the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Turkey H.E.
Mr. Ahmet Davutoglu telephoned the Foreign Minister of Pakistan Ms Hina Rabbani
Khar and apprised her of a serious violation of Turkish territory resulting in
the loss of lives of five Turkish citizens by unprovoked cross border shelling
by the Syrian forces.
The Government of Pakistan is deeply saddened on the loss of five
innocent Turkish civilians and condemns this reprehensible act of unprovoked
cross border shelling.
Pakistan expresses its full support and solidarity with Turkey in
face of this grave incident. We offer our condolences to the families of the
deceased and the Government of Turkey.
Britain also denounced
as "outrageous" the Syrian shelling of a Turkish border town that
killed five civilians, AFP reported.
"I condemn the violence from the Syrian
regime which has led to the deaths of a number of Turkish citizens, including a
mother and her children," Foreign minister William Hague said in a
statement.
"This was an outrageous act. We demand
that the Syrian regime avoid any repetition of today's incident on the border
with Turkey."
Syrian shells hit the Turkish town of Akcakale on Wednesday,
killing five civilians, including a mother and her three children.
Turkish forces retaliated to the attack with
artillery fire as NATO held an emergency meeting to express support for Ankara
while urging Syria to respect international law.
"Today's events are a stark reminder of
the deteriorating situation in Syria, the dangers it presents to the wider
region, and the need for an urgent resolution of the United Nations Security
Council," said Hague.
"Turkey is one of our closest allies and
key partners in the region and we will continue to work closely together on the
Syria crisis and remain in close touch over the coming days".
The United States condemned Syria yesterday for the "depraved"
shelling of a Turkish border town that left five dead, and said it was
closely following what is a "dangerous" situation.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other
US officials voiced solidarity with
Turkey and anger with the Syrian regime over shells that hit the town of Akcakale.
UN chief urges
Syria to respect neighbors’ borders
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon is calling on the Syrian government to respect the territorial
integrity of its neighbors following Syria’s deadly shelling that hit a Turkish
border town.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Wednesday’s
incidents "again demonstrated how Syria’s conflict is threatening not only
the security of the Syrian people but increasingly causing harm to its
neighbors."
"The secretary-general has repeatedly
warned that the ongoing militarization of the conflict in Syria is leading to
tragic results for the Syrian people," he said.
The U.N. chief called on the Syrian government
to end the violence against its people and on all parties to reduce tensions
and move to a peaceful resolution of the 18-month conflict, Nesirky said.
PACE's condemsPACE President condemns deadly Syrian shelling of Turkish
border village of Akçakale
Strasbourg, 04.10.2012 - On the occasion of an urgent
debate of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) on the European
response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon
made the following statement today:
“I strongly condemn the killing of Turkish civilians by
Syrian cross-border shelling – this is only the latest and worst of several
such incidents, which are an unacceptable violation of Turkish sovereignty. I
call on all sides not to escalate the violence further, and to abide strictly
by international law. The spread of instability could entail very serious
consequences for the whole region.”
The PACE President also expressed his condolences to the
families of the victims.
