Erdogan urges US leaders to condemn Chapel Hill shooting

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged US officials to take a firm stance against the death of three Muslims at the residential complex of the North Carolina State University.

Erdogan, delivering a speech at Mexico's Matias Romero Institute on Thursday, called on President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State John Kerry to condemn the murder publicly.

"Why are you still keeping silent?” he asked, stressing that he has been waiting to hear their voice on the incident, which he called an "act of cruelty".

Deah Barakat, 23, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, were fatally shot on Tuesday in Chapel Hill. 

The accused, Craig Stephen Hicks, 46, surrendered to police after the attack and has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

"An international fight against terrorism is a must," the president stressed. "Both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are crimes against humanity."

During the same speech, Erdogan also criticised the UN Security Council for failing to fulfill its responsibility to humanity.

More countries from across the world's continents should be represented in the UN Security Council, Erdogan said. 

"The permanent members only represent Europe, America, and Asia; there is no country representing the Muslim world," he said, also repeating his famous statement "the world is bigger than five".

The UN Security Council consists of 15 members, with Russia, the UK, the US, France and China serving as the body's five permanent members. The non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the UN General Assembly.

"The fate of all other countries across the world cannot depend on what the current permanent members have to say," he added. 

Erdogan suggested that membership should rotate periodically, taking into account various ethnicities and religions.