BRUSSELS
The European Union has condemned the Syrian attack on Turkey's south-eastern town of Akcakale which killed 5 Turkish citizens and injured 9 others when artillery shells fell on the town and said, "I strongly condemn yesterday's (Wednesday) shelling by Syrian forces."
Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, stressed that she called for restraint from all sides and will continue to follow the situation extremely closely and added, "Yesterday's incident illustrates clearly the tragic spill-over effects of the Syrian crisis in neighbouring countries. I once again urge the Syrian authorities to put an immediate end to the violence and fully respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all neighbouring countries; such violations of Turkey's sovereignty cannot be tolerated."
In the scope of showing EU's solidarity, Ashton highlighted that she contacted Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to express their condolences to the families of the victims and to the Turkish people.
PACE condemns Syrian shelling of Turkish border
The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) president condemned the killing of five Turkish citizens by Syrian cross-border shelling.
A statement by PACE President Jean-Claude Mignon said on Thursday, "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.
Bulgaria condemns Syrian attack on Turkey
Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on the attack and said that the Syrian regime had been violating the international law roughly.
It was said in the statement that Bulgaria was supporting NATO's response to the attack and standing by Turkey.
Council of Europe condemns Syrian artillery attack
The secretary general of the Council of Europe said on Thursday that he was extremely concerned about the violence on the Turkish-Syrian border, and he called upon the Syrian leadership to end the senseless killing.
A statement by Thorbjorn Jagland said, "I am extremely concerned about the violence on the Turkish-Syrian border yesterday. The loss of lives in a member state of the Council of Europe is deplorable, and illustrates the risk of the Syrian conflict spreading in the region."
"I call upon the Syrian leadership to end the senseless killing and upon the international community to agree on a united and effective response to address this crisis. I extend my sincere condolences to the Turkish government and the relations of the victims," he said.
