GERMANY: German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemns a Syrian mortar attack on Turkey which killed five civilians

Record ID: 281425

  • Title: GERMANY: German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemns a Syrian mortar attack on Turkey which killed five civilians
  • Date: 5th October 2012
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (OCTOBER 4, 2012) (REUTERS) GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE WITH THE PRESIDENT OF YEMEN, ABD-RABBU MANSOUR HADI PHOTOGRAPHER (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "Firstly we strongly condemn the Syrian attacks on Turkey. This was the subject of the talks in the NATO council yesterday. At the same tim
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAE84B2KUFUSL6COYDDJ2Y3B1WR
  • Story Text: Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday (October 4) strongly condemned a mortar attack by Syria on a Turkish border town, which killed five civilians on Wednesday (October 3).
    "At the same time we call on all those involved to remain level-headed but it is also clear that Germany condemns Syria. We stand beside Turkey. The German foreign minister has been in contact, we have had contact on all levels with Turkey and at the same time, level-headedness is the message of the moment which Germany resolutely supports," Merkel said at a news conference in Berlin.
    Turkey hit back with artillery fire, in which activists and security services said several Syrian soldiers had been killed. They also said Turkey was reinforcing its troops along the border.
    The violence is the most serious cross-border escalation of the 18-month-old uprising in Syria.
    U.N. Security Council members had hoped to issue a non-binding statement on Wednesday that would condemn the mortar attack "in the strongest terms" and demand an end to violations of Turkey's territorial sovereignty. But Russia asked for a delay, diplomats said.
    About 30,000 people have been killed across Syria, activists say, in a conflict with growing sectarian overtones that threatens to draw in regional Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim powers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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