Smoke billows from a fire at the southeastern town of Nusaybin, Turkey, near the border with Syria, where Turkish security forces are battling militants linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers, Party or PKK, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, a day after Turkish media reports said a police officer was injured in a clash. The private Dogan news agency said themilitants on Saturday detonated an explosive device in the town as a military vehicle was passing by, but no one injured. A second bomb was defused in a controlled explosion. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)(Credit: AP)

Published by Associated Press 15 February 2016

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union officials are calling on Turkey to halt its military action in Syria after Turkish forces shelled positions held by a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia over the weekend.

 The EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said Monday that “only a few days ago, all of us including Turkey, sitting around the table decided steps to de-escalate and have a cessation of hostilities.”

She said more fighting “is obviously not what we expect.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said “we have the plan for a cessation of hostilities and I think everybody has to abide by that.”

Syria’s main Kurdish faction, the People’s Protection Units, has been most effective in combating the Islamic State group, but Turkey appears uneasy over the group’s recent gains.

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