President Khoja condemned Russia’s latest attacks on Aleppo and its deliberate targeting of Syrian hospitals, medical facilities and schools, and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Syrian territory.
In a letter to the UN Security Council sent on Friday, President Khoja said that “Russia’s attacks on Syria’s hospitals and schools were intentional and premeditated. All of the hospitals’ locations were well-known and well-documented, and their civilian character was abundantly clear to Russian authorities.”
“The decision to target Syria’s medical infrastructure—in spite of (or more accurately, because of) the vital services they provide—represents a deliberate strategy on Russia’s part to destroy civilian life in opposition-held areas, and to render these areas uninhabitable. The attacks almost certainly constitute grave war crimes,” President Khoja stated.
In his letter to the UN Security Council, President Khoja called on Member States and the United Nations to launch an investigation into Monday’s attacks on medical facilities and schools in northern Syria, and ensure that the investigation attributes responsibility.
The letter demanded the immediate exit of Russian forces from Syrian territory, calling for protecting civilians from future indiscriminate strikes by Russia and the Assad regime forces, including by enforcing a no-bombing zone across Syria.
President Khoja also called for ensuring accountability for all war crimes committed by referring the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, launching a case under universal jurisdiction, or taking measures to establish an independent international criminal Tribunal for Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition)