Nato and Pentagon condemn Syrian shelling of Turkish village Turkish police officers react after a mortar bomb fired from Syria landed in the border village of Akçakale. Nato ambassadors met in emergency session in Brussels on Wednesday to ponder their limited options over the escalating Syrian conflict after a cross-border incident with Syrian mortar fire left five dead in a Turkish village. The unusual session of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels was demanded by Ankara, which has been pushing for a more muscular response from the western alliance to the atrocities in Syria. There is no appetite in Washington or among the Nato allies, however, for being dragged into the conflict. The Nato ambassadors issued a statement following the meeting, voicing their "greatest concern" and strong condemnation of the shelling, said to have killed a Turkish woman and her four children. The Nato meeting was held under the alliance treaty's article 4, asserting the integrity of the 28 members, rather than under article 5, which commits Nato to come to the defence of a member state under attack. In an interview with the Guardian on Monday, the Nato secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the alliance was committed to the defence of its key south-eastern pivot, Turkey. But he emphasised that there was scant prospect of Nato military intervention in Syria. "Syria is a very, very complex society," he said. Foreign military interventions could have broader impacts. The statement issued after Nato's meeting in Brussels demanded an immediate halt to "aggressive acts" against Turkey. The shelling from Syria "constitutes a cause of greatest concern for, and is strongly condemned by, all allies," Nato ambassadors said in a statement, after they held a rare late-night meeting at Turkey's request to discuss the incident. "The alliance continues to stand by Turkey and demands the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally, and urges the Syrian regime to put an end to flagrant violations of international law," the statement said. In Washington, the Pentagon strongly condemned Syria's deadly mortar strike into Turkey and said it was closely monitoring the situation. This is yet another example of the depraved behaviour of the Syrian regime, and why it must go. We regret the loss of life in Turkey, a strong ally," Pentagon spokesman George Little said. The White House also issued a strong statement condemning the incident and called for the Assad regime to step aside. "All responsible nations must make clear that it is long past time for Assad to step aside, declare a ceasefire and begin the long-overdue political transition process," White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said.