General Coordinator of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee Riad Hijab said that for the political process to continue it is essential to immediately and unconditionally implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions; most importantly those related to the cessation of violence, ending the suffering of the Syrian people, lifting the sieges, delivering aid to those in need, the release of detainees, and stopping executions and other arbitrary measures practiced against civilians by the Assad regime.
In a statement issued earlier today following his meeting with the Friends of the Syrian People Group in Paris on Monday, Hijab underscored the importance of “adopting a new strategy by the United Nations to push the peace process forward through employing a more strict policy to address the violations perpetrated by the regime of Bashar al-Assad and its allies.”
Hijab warned that the latest escalation of violence by the Assad regime and its allies “will have severe implications both on the ground and at the humanitarian level, as the brutal shelling is aggravating the refugees’ crisis in the neighboring countries.”
Hijab talked about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Aleppo and other Syrian provinces as a result of the escalation of aerial and artillery bombardment by the Assad regime against civilian populated areas. He called upon the international community to put an end to the hostilities and address the horrific violations perpetrated against civilians all over Syria by the regime and its allies.
Hijab also warned of “the gravity of the humanitarian situation in several Syrian provinces, especially Aleppo, where the regime and its allies have committed a number of appalling massacres in the past few days.”
Moreover, Hijab referred to “the deliberate intentions of the regime to escalate hostilities evidenced through the mobilization of more sectarian militias and mercenaries to support regime forces in their bloody campaign against the city.”
Hijab said that “the serious violations of the truce, which has actually collapsed on the ground, committed by the regime and its allies prove that the regime seeks to bring the political process to failure and evade its obligations.”
He called on the international community to exert an effort to end the suffering of the Syrian people through lifting the blockades on the besieged areas; granting the humanitarian agencies access to all those in need; releasing all detainees, stopping aerial and artillery bombardments and attacks against civilians; putting an end to enforced displacements; and stopping all executions in accordance with articles 12, 13 and 14 of UNSC Resolution 2254 (2015). (Source: Syrian Coalition)
