South Africa on Monday condemned an Israeli airstrike on a suspected militant base in Syria, saying it would inflame the situation in the volatile region.
“We must record our very strong concern at the escalation of violence by Israel,” said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad.
“This is clearly a violation of international law. It is extending the terrain of confict and it can only inflame the situation much more,” Pahad told reporters at a briefing in the capital.
He said South Africa agreed with statements by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan at a emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday that “this is a very dangerous situation and we call for restraint”.
“We hope this attack will not lead to more retaliation and further military actions across the borders,” said Pahad.
He called on the Security Council to help calm the situation.
“We have been warning for some time that if we don’t solve the Palestinian-Israeli issue quickly — if we don’t get the road map moving fast — the danger of it going beyond borders is very great.
“I think we are sitting on a powder keg right now.”
Syria asked the UN Security Council at a meeting late on Sunday to condemn the strike as a “military aggression against the sovereignty and territory of the Syrian Arab Republic … in violation of the charter of the United Nations [and] the rules and principles of international law.”
But the council adjourned without taking a vote. No date for the resumption of the meeting has been set, US ambassador John Negroponte, the council president, told reporters after the session. — Sapa-AFP
Syria opts for diplomacy
Israeli jets hit Syria camp
Israel strikes back