Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

The UN Security Council has condemned a Syrian mortar attack that killed five civilians on a Turkish border town. Security Council issued press statement by Council President Gert Rosenthal on Thursday.

The statement said the attack underscored the grave impact the Syrian crisis was having on "regional peace and stability".

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the shelling by the Syrian armed forces of the Turkish town of Akcakale, which resulted in the deaths of five civilians, all of whom were women and children, as well as a number of injuries. The members of the Security Council expressed their sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and people of Turkey. The members of the Security Council called on the Syrian government to fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors.

A day after mortar shells from Syria, Turkey's parliament has authorized military action inside Syria, a move that triggered anti-war protests. The government received on Thursday a mandate from Parliament for military operations in foreign countries. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country does not intend to start a war with Syria.

Funerals have been held in the town of Akcakale for the victims of the Syrian attack on Thursday.

Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari said his government was not seeking escalation with Turkey.

He criticized the Security Council's silence on "suicide terrorist attacks that struck the city of Aleppo" that killed dozens of Syrians on the same day as the Turkish incident.

A senior diplomat said the Security Council would address that issue on Friday.

Mr Erdogan said at a news conference in Akcakale on Thursday evening: "We want peace and security and nothing else. We could never be interested in something like starting a war."

But he added: "The Turkish Republic is a state capable of defending its citizens and borders. Nobody should try and test our determination on this subject."

On Thursday evening thousands of people held an anti-war rally in Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Demonstrators chanted: "No to war! Peace now! We won't be soldiers of imperialists!"

Other, smaller anti-war protests were reported in Izmir, Mersin, Eskisehir and other cities and towns.

Mr Jaafari said his country had offered condolences over the deaths but not an apology because an inquiry into the incident had not been completed.

Turkey has been a critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since anti-government protests erupted there more than a year ago.

Ankara has openly supported the armed rebellion and called for the end to the regime.