Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that its investigations into attacks by Syrian government forces last month in Idlib province “strongly suggest” the military dropped barrel bombs with toxic chemicals.
“Syrian rescue workers reported that these attacks affected at least 206 people, including 20 civil defense workers. One attack killed six civilians, including three children. The attacks violated the Chemical Weapons Convention and a United Nations Security Council resolution,” HRW said.
President Khoja said that the Assad regime’s frequent violations the UN Security Council’s resolution 2209 that condemns and bans the use of poison gas shows utmost disregard for international laws and conventions.
Khoja stresses the need for a quick and strong response from the UN Security Council to these crimes under Chapter VII of the UN charter as is spelled out in Resolution 2209. “We lay legal responsibility to protect Syrian civilians on the UN Security Council, which is also responsible for preserving international peace and security, and work to prevent more casualties as a result of the continuing aerial bombardment campaigns waged by the Assad regime against civilians.”
“Assad’s continuance of committing more crimes will drag the country into a state of chaos where extremist organizations will flourish, making it imperative for friendly countries to support the FSA with advanced weapons to protect civilians and restore stability to Syria,” Khoja added. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
