Syrian activists launched a campaign calling for an end to the mass forced displacement policy pursued by the Assad regime to bring about a demographic change in Syria. The campaign called for these crimes to be stopped and sieges on all cities and towns across the country to be lifted.
Organizers of the campaign, which was launched in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Friday under the title “No to Forced Displacement,” said that the Assad regime continues to pursue a “kneel or starve” policy through besiegement and starvation of the civilian population to force them to leave their homes.
The Assad regime has carried out several mass forced displacement operations in many parts across Syria, most recently in the town of Daraya in Rural Damascus where all residents evacuated the town under threats of annihilation. Similar operations have also been carried out in the town of Zabadani in Rural Damascus, the old quarter of Homs, and the Qusair area in Homs province.
The Assad regime has lately been seeking to repeat this tactic in the district of Alwaer in Homs as well as the towns of Qudsayya, Alhama, Moadamiya, and Madaya in Rural Damascus with the aim of emptying these towns of their indigenous population.
Organizers of the campaign called for the unconditional return of civilians to their towns and villages and an international inquiry into the forced displacement of Syrian civilians by the Assad regime. They also called for providing reparations to the victims of these policies, stressing the need to maintain land and homes registries of the areas affected. (Source: Syrian Coalition)