Riad Hijab, General Coordinator of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee, called upon the international community to assume its duty in stopping the massacres being committed by the Assad regime and its allies in Syria as well as ratchet up pressure on Russia to stop its aggression in Syria.
At a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday, Hijab stressed that the brutal onslaught on Aleppo by the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies are war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The two sides discussed the serious military escalation against civilians and medical facilities, especially in Aleppo by the Assad regime and Russia, while Hijab described the situation from in Aleppo as catastrophic after airstrikes have put all hospitals in the city out of service.
The meeting touched on ways to lift the blockade imposed by regime forces and the Iranian-backed foreign militias on Syrian towns and cities, stressing the need to respond to warnings of an imminent starvation in eastern Aleppo due to acute shortages of food supplies.
Hijab also stressed the need to ensure accountability for the war crimes being committed in Syria, especially in Aleppo, calling for a binding resolution by the UN General Assembly in light of Russia’s blocking of UN Security Council resolutions through its repeated use of the veto.
Peace cannot be achieved in Syria in the presence of Bashar al-Assad whether in the transitional phase or in the future of Syria, Hijab stressed.
Hijab praised the efforts made by the Free Syrian Army in the fight against ISIS, noting that the actions of the Assad regime and the Iranian-backed foreign militias led to the rise of this extremist group.
At the end of the meeting, Hijab thanked the French foreign minister for the positions France has taken in support of the Syrian people both in the political and humanitarian tracks. He expressed hope that the EU would play an active role in holding the Assad regime and its allies to account. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
