The 53rd session of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s (SOC) General Assembly begun in the town of Azaz in rural Aleppo earlier on Wednesday to discuss the latest on the ground and political developments in Syria. These include the Assad regime and its backers’ military escalation in Idlib province and in southern Syria, the latest developments in the northeast, the situation of basic services, health and security in the liberated areas, and the political process and the Constitutional Committee.
The meeting brought together SOC’s President Nasr Al-Hariri, vice-presidents, President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, members of the political committee and the General Assembly, ministers of the Syrian Interim Government, commanders of the Syrian National Army, heads of local councils, and civil and revolutionary officials.
Al-Hariri began the session with a briefing on the latest developments, especially the Russian Ministry of Defense’s call for a conference on Syrian refugees. He stressed the SOC’s rejection of the conference as he made it clear that Russia is seeking to return refugees in order to earn reconstruction money and rehabilitate the Assad regime.
Al-Hariri stressed that the return of refugees cannot take place without addressing the causes that forced them out of Syria. He reaffirmed the need to bring about a genuine political solution in accordance with the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council Resolution 2254, and to create a safe and neutral environment for the return of refugees.
Moreover, al-Hariri talked about the SOC’s intention to increase its activities in the liberated areas, and to improve the reality of Syrian civilians by paying more attention to the institutions and essential services.
For their part, the SNA commanders gave an overview on the military situation, especially the Assad regime and its backers’ breaches of the ceasefire agreement. They also talked about the administrative issues related to the SNA’s formations.
The SOC’s Secretary-General, Abdelbaset Abdullatif, presented the report on the work of the General Secretariat while SIG’s ministers submitted reports on their work detailing their latest activities in the liberated areas, especially in the areas of health, education and security. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
