The Syrian Coalition said that the remarks that the UN envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has recently made on Syria has given the green light to the Assad regime forces, Iranian terrorist militias and Russian air forces to attack civilians in Idlib province. Such attack will risk causing a humanitarian disaster as the province is home to more than three million people, half of them who have been already forcibly displaced from other parts of Syria.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Coalition condemned de Mistura’s remarks which came in the context of the threats surrounding Idlib. The Coalition described these remarks as “shocking,” adding that they “seemed as precursor to the Assad regime and Russia’s aggression against civilians in Idlib.”
The Coalition called upon the United Nations to take a firm stand against these remarks as “they pave the way for possible crimes by Russia, the Iranian militias, and the Assad regime against civilians in Idlib.”
Moreover, the Coalition underscored that de Mistura’s remarks showed a lack of commitment and contradicted his role as a UN mediator.
“These remarks need to be corrected and action needs to be taken in line with the political challenges by prioritizing the protection of civilians and preventing their displacement,” the Coalition added.
The Coalition, meanwhile, saluted salutes the Syrian people who took part in demonstrations that swept across many Syrian cities and towns to express their rejection of any Russian aggression against any part of our homeland and to reaffirm their full solidarity with Idlib in the face of the Assad regime’s threats to storm the region and displace its population.
The Coalition said that the Friday demonstrations called on the Free Syrian Army groups to unite. Demonstrators also reiterated the demands to overthrow the Assad regime as they reaffirmed commitment to the Syrian revolution’s goals for freedom, justice and dignity and the establishment of a democratic, civil state. Protestors also expressed their outright rejection of the threats being made by Russia and the Assad regime to attack Idlib province. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
