The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) issued a press release to mark the fifth anniversary of the Russian aggression against Syria, stressing that Russia has stood on the side of the murderous Assad regime against the Syrian people’s aspirations for freedom and dignity since the start of the Syrian revolution.
The SOC said that Russia has provided a cover for the Assad regime’s crimes and massacres at the UN Security Council through the use of its veto power in over sixteen occasions. “Russia has also supported the foreign militias Iran brought from many countries,” it added.
“When both the Assad regime and Iran have failed to crush the Syrian revolution, and when the regime reached the point of total collapse, Russia intervened with its full military power on September 30, 2015, ushering in a new phase of crimes against Syria and its people. It turned our homeland a testing ground for its weapons, with Russia unabashedly bragging about testing more than 65 types of new weapons against the Syrian people.”
The SOC also said that “despite the sheer amount of weaponry Russia sent to Syria, the various types of bombs and warplanes by which it turned our country into an arena for military drills, the massacres, war crimes and crimes against humanity it is committing, its willingness to continue and commit more atrocities; its intervention has reached a dead end with the project that the dictator Assad put all bets on is now crumbling down.”
“Despite the relentless targeting of cities and towns one after another, causing a mass exodus of civilians and helping the regime regain territory, the fifth year of the Russian intervention saw the consolidation of the failure of the Russian venture at the military level in spite of the scorched earth policy it has pursued since day one.”
Moreover, the SOC said that “in the context of the liberation war that they are waging at the political, civil, and military levels, the Syrian people, with the support of their allies, has managed to take the Russian intervention to a dead end. They proved how futile whatever Russia can provide to the regime, be it military or diplomatic support.”
“It has become clear that there is no way out expect through a political solution in accordance with UN resolution 2254, including the formation of a Transitional Governing Body with full powers.”
The SOC stressed that “accountability and prosecution of war criminals will not take long as whoever committed crimes against the Syrian people will be brought to justice. Rights activists and human rights defenders around the world will continue to track down those responsible for crimes everywhere until they obtain just punishment.”
The SOC called on the international community to assume its responsibilities and work to find appropriate mechanisms to put an end to Russia’s obstruction of the international efforts in Syria. “The international community is also required to step up efforts to avoid further bloodshed and push the political process ahead.” (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
