Several demonstrations took place in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo on Friday to protest against the remarks recently made by the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura and against the Assad regime and its Russian ally’s preparations for a military offensive in the region.
Local activists said that demonstrations took place in more than 20 locations across Idlib and Aleppo provinces. Protesters waved the flag of the Syrian revolution, reaffirming commitment to the goals of the revolution and that they would continue to resist the regime until victory. They also condemned the remarks that the UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura made on Thursday, raising banners that read ‘de Mistura sold Aleppo and paved the way to Idlib.’
De Mistura called for the opening of a ‘humanitarian corridor’ for the evacuation of nearly 4 million out of Idlib province. Protestors said that such remarks would help the Assad regime empty the area of its local population and serve the Assad regime’s plans for the mass forced displacement and demographic change.
Demonstrators pointed out that de Mistura failed to condemn the Assad regime which used chemical weapons in more than 216 occasions in different areas of Syria. They noted that the UN envoy’s remarks echoed the regime’s threats of using this weapon again in Idlib.
Meanwhile, member of the Coalition’s political committee, Ahmed Ramadan, slammed de Mistura’s remarks calling for the displacement of nearly four million civilians from Idlib province. Ramadan called on de Mistura to quit as the UN envoy.
In comments he posted on Twitter on Thursday, Ramadan said that de Mistura failed to condemn the Assad regime’s use of chemical weapons in more than 216 attacks against Syrian civilians. The UN envoy did not denounce the Assad regime’s murder of more than 20,000 detainees under torture out of 95,000 forcibly disappeared people, Ramadan added. He also slammed de Mistura’s proposals for the opening of a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to evacuate civilians from Idlib instead of seeking to prevent the attack on the province.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Islamic Council called on Syrians to unite in the face of any possible aggression by Russia and the Assad regime on Idlib. The Council stressed that those who join the enemy or ally with it or work for the benefit of foreign occupiers and fight their fellow Syrians in Idlib must be treated in the same way as the soldiers of Bashar al-Assad. It urged rebel groups to unite and close ranks against any possible Russian and Assad regime aggression.
The province of Idlib is home to the largest humanitarian gathering in the north of Syria. Most of the people live in unofficial camps lacking the most basic humanitarian necessities. In recent weeks, the Assad regime and its Russian ally have been issuing threats that they would attack the province amid near utter silence by the international community which is showing complete disregard for the fate of civilians should the regime and its allies attack the province. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
