UN condemns Syria over Turkey shelling

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council condemned Syria “in the strongest terms” Thursday for its deadly shelling of Turkey, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged restraint along the neighbors' tinder-box border. Turkey had demanded strong Security Council action after Syrian fire killed five Turkish women and children on Wednesday, prompting retaliatory Turkish strikes against a military position inside Syria that reportedly killed several soldiers.

After hours of haggling between Turkey's Western allies on the Security Council and longtime Syria backer Russia, the top UN body issued its statement, which although toughly worded was a rung down from a formal resolution.

“The members of the Security Council condemn in the strongest terms the shelling by the Syrian armed forces,” the statement said.

The text also urged “restraint” and Guatemala's ambassador to the United Nations, the current council president, said this applied to both Syria and Turkey. AFP