UN Calls Syria, Turkey for Calm

Local Editor

The United Nations called Thursday for calm in Turkey and Syria, amid rising tensions caused by cross-border shelling.

A mortar strike on the Turkish town of Akcakele killed five and wounded 10 others.Turkey resumed fire and its parliament voted to authorize military operations inside Syria, although the country's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the pounding of Syrian targets was just "a warning".
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged both countries to exercise "maximum restraint".

His spokesman Martin Nesirky said: "The secretary general calls on all concerned to abandon the use of violence, exercise maximum restraint and exert all efforts to move toward a political solution.
"As the situation inside Syria deteriorates yet further, the risks of regional conflict and the threat to international peace and security are also increasing.
In parallel, Turkey's deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Damascus had assured Ankara that "such an incident would not be repeated" after UN mediation.
Later, Russia on Thursday opposed the draft of the non-binding statement and proposed a text that would call both Syria and Turkey to exercise "restraint and reduce tensions on the border."

"The members of the Security Council called on the parties to exercise restraint and avoid military clashes which could lead to a further escalation of the situation in the border area between Syria and Turkey," said Russia's proposed statement, obtained by Reuters.
Russian spokesman Alexander Lukashevich had earlier said it was "important that a balanced approach, based on real facts, is exercised by the UN Security Council."


Source: News Agencies, Edited by moqawama.org