Ban warns of Syria-Turkey escalation

DAMASCUS: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Monday of a "dangerous' fallout from spiralling violence along the Syrian-Turkish border, as regime troops shelled rebel bastions across Syria leaving dozens dead.

"The escalation of the conflict along the Syrian-Turkish border and the impact of the crisis on Lebanon are extremely dangerous," Ban said at the opening of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, France.

The armed uprising in Syria has increasingly sparked violence on the country's border with NATO member Turkey, with the Turkish military returning fire on Sunday after a shell launched from Syria struck the border village of Akcakale. There were no casualties in Sunday's incident, but last Wednesday five civilians were killed in the village by shelling from Syria.

Since Wednesday, the Turkish military has responded in kind whenever Syrian ordnance has breached its territory, inflaming tensions between the former allies and leading to fears of a broader conflict.