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 condems
PACE 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.