Azernews.Az

Turkey's military has launched new artillery strikes against targets inside Syria after shelling from across the border on October 3 killed five Turkish citizens, Radio Liberty reported.

Turkey's NTV television said the bombardment targeted the Tel Abyad district, about 10 kilometers inside Syria.

Activists inside Syria said the attack killed several soldiers loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

On October 3, Turkey's border town of Akcakale was hit by a shell fired from the Tel Abyad area. Two women and three children were killed.

Turkey's government said it was now seeking parliamentary approval for military operations outside its borders.

But Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Turkey had no intention of declaring war on Syria.

He added that Turkey will continue political initiatives to resolve the crisis.

Calls for restraint

In the past, the Turkish military has moved into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish militants.

The United Nations and NATO have urged Syria to respect its neighbors' territorial integrity.

On October 3, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, also called on Turkey to pursue dialogue with Syria.

"The secretary-general expressed his condolences at the tragic loss of life," Nesirky said, "and encouraged [the Turkish government] to keep open all channels of communication with the Syrian authorities with a view to lessening any tensions that could build up as a result of the incident."

In Islamabad, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Syria to publicly state that the shelling was accidental.

"The Syrians have assured us, through [UN and Arab League envoy] Lakhdar Brahimi, that it was a sad, tragic accident, and that they will take every measure to make sure it doesn't happen again," Lavrov said. "We think it is important that Damascus states this publicly."

Lavrov said both sides need to do more to reduce tensions, and "establish a channel of communication, considering the tensions on their common border."

On October 4, EU foreign-policy and security chief Catherine Ashton condemned the shelling from Syria. She said it illustrates the tragic spill-over effects of the Syrian crisis on neighboring countries.

Late on October 3, NATO held an emergency meeting at the request of alliance member Turkey.

The alliance issued a statement saying it "continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed outrage at the attack.

At Turkey's request, the UN Security Council is scheduled to meet later on October 4 to condemn Syria's actions.

Syria has said it's investigating the incident, and offered condolences to the victims' families.

Simmering Tensions

The Turkish town of Akcakale has been fired on from Syria several times over recent weeks.

In June, Syrian government forces fired on a Turkish military jet, which crashed into the sea with the loss of two pilots.

On October 2, Russia cautioned NATO and other powers not to seek a "pretext" to intervene militarily in Syria's bloody conflict.

In an interview with the Interfax news agency, Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov also called for restraint between NATO-member Turkey and Syria.

Gatilov's comments came after Erdogan recently criticized Russia for blocking efforts at the UN to exert pressure on Syrian President Assad and said Moscow's stance allowed massacres to continue in Syria.

Turkey's government has taken a hard line against violence leaking over into Turkey from the 19-month-old Syrian conflict.