EU urges 'utmost restraint' after Israel-Lebanon clash
(BRUSSELS) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton voiced serious concern following Tuesday's deadly clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border, calling for both sides to exercise utmost restraint.
"I wish to express serious concern over the recent exchange of fire across the Israeli-Lebanese border and I urge the parties involved to exercise the utmost restraint," Ashton said in a statement.
"Immediate steps should be taken on both sides of the border in order to prevent a further escalation of tension or any form of further violence," she said after the worst flare-up of violence on the tense border since a 2006 war.
Ashton called for an enquiry into the clashes that killed two Lebanese soldiers, a journalist and a senior Israeli officer. Washington and the United Nations have also called for restraint amid fears of a return to war.
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