Secretary-General of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Haytham Rahmeh, condemned the brutal Russian airstrikes in rural Idlib on Friday, which killed seven people and wounded many others, including children and women. He held Russia fully responsible for this horrific crime as he denounced the international community’s silence on these crimes and its failure to assume its responsibilities with regard to protecting defenseless civilians from the crimes of Putin and Assad.
Rahmeh said that this crime is added to Russia’s litany of atrocious crimes against the Syrian people. He stressed the need for the international community to respond to this crime just as it did with regard to the attack on Zakho in Dohuk, and the need for balanced attitudes towards the crimes against civilians anywhere.
Moreover, Rahmeh stressed that Russia is seeking to aggravate the humanitarian tragedy and the harsh living conditions in Syria. He said that today’s deadly attack on Idlib demonstrates that Russia is seeking to consolidate its influence in Syria through brutal military escalation.
He questioned the feasibility of the political process, whether in Astana or Geneva, in light of international inaction and the claim that the solution is political at a time when the current crimes reflect an insistence on pursuing a military solution only.
Rahmeh stressed that condemning the Russian atrocious crimes in northwestern Syria is a moral duty on the part of the international community, adding that stopping these crimes and holding their perpetrators accountable is a legal and moral duty on all major actors in the international community.
He called on the Syrian National Army to respond and stand ready for any military operation against the Assad regime forces and its allies on Idlib in response to the Friday brutal attack and the continued violations by Assad’s forces and the terrorist militias.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
