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10 April 2012

Top British Diplomat Slams Syria For Violating The Sovereignty Of Turkey And Lebanon

LONDON (AA) - Britian's foreign secretary has said Syria had violated the sovereignty of Turkey and Lebanon by attacking on Syrian civilians fleeing the regime's 13-month-old crackdown.

"[...] the regime has violated the sovereignty of Turkey and Lebanon, firing over Syria's borders at people desperately seeking to find refuge from the regime's onslaught," William Hague said in a statement on Tuesday.

Syrian forces fired Monday on civilians fleeing into a camp in Turkey's Kilis province near the border killing at least two Syrians and wounding 21 others.

The cross-border fire also wounded four including a Turkish police officer in the camp that sheltered Syrians civilians.

Turkey reacted strongly to the incident, urging Syria to avoid aggression, warning that "necessary measures" would be taken if a similar incident reoccurred.

Hague said the Assad regime had used an April 10 deadline of a peace plan by UN/Arab League Envoy Kofi Annan as "a cover for intensified military efforts to crush Syria's opposition."

"They have ruthlessly subjected whole communities to an inhumane campaign of shelling, forced expulsions and executions. They have attempted to attach unacceptable eleventh-hour conditions to a ceasefire agreement as a pretext for continuing the violence," Hague said.

Hague said he spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu earlier Tuesday, adding he was set to speak to Annan later in the day "about the way forward."

"We will be ready to intensify our support for the Syrian Opposition, and to support others seeking to do the same. And we will begin the process of seeking the referral by the Security Council of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

"President Assad and his closest cronies should be under no doubt that they will be held to account for their actions. All those with influence over the Syrian leadership, including Russia, have a duty to back efforts to stop the violence and to isolate a regime which is as doomed as it is dangerous to the Syrian people," Hague said.

Davutoglu on Monday cut short his trip to China where he accompanied the Turkish premier, and he was expected to return to Turkey shortly after the cross-border violence near Turkey's southern province of Kilis.