The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) said that Operation Spring Shield came as a natural response to Syrian people’s calls and to the international community’s years-long ignoring of the cries of detainees, the displaced, and the orphans and widows and its choosing to only express its concern.
In a press release issued on Monday, the SOC said that after “the heavy price that the Syrian people have paid, after years of international inaction, and after our appeals and demands, the Syrian people see Operation Spring Shield as a natural response to their calls and as a move seeking to compensate for the international community’s failure to assume its humanitarian duty.”
“Operation Spring Shield aims to put an end to the Assad regime’s atrocious crimes, the mass forced displacement, and extremism and terrorism. It will also significantly contribute to enforce resolutions and agreements and help reach a political solution based on international resolutions,” the SOC added.
“Operation Spring Shield represents an opportunity that may be the last one for tens of thousands of young Syrians whom the regime forced to fight in its ranks, including the youths who agreed to the so-called reconciliation and settlements deals. Today they have an opportunity to correct their mistakes by abandoning this murderous regime and take an honorable stance alongside the Syrian people.”
The SOC underscored that “in addition to defending its security and future, Turkey today assumes the duty that the international community should have assumed long time ago. Turkey’s support for the Syrian National Army represents an important move to protect civilians and safeguard human values and international law. This support appears as the only way to keep alive the chances for reaching a political solution in Syria.”
The SOC also stressed that the Syrian National Army and the Turkish Army honor international treaties and agreements as their operations are being carried out with the utmost professionalism and without causing harm to civilians while showing respect for the relevant Geneva Conventions. (SOC’s Media Department)
