The Syrian Coalition’s Department of Foreign Affairs met with officials of the German and French foreign ministries to discuss European and American preparations to respond to the Assad regime’s Saturday chemical attack on the town of Douma.
Member of the Department Anas Abda stressed the need to hold those responsible for the use of chemical weapons and perpetrators of war crimes in Syria accountable. He said that international resolutions, especially Article 21 of UN Security Council resolution 2118 called for the use of force against perpetrators of chemical weapons attacks.
Abda, who is also member of the Coalition’s political committee, said that punishing the perpetrators of war crimes would send a strong message to the Assad regime and its backers and bring the longstanding international inaction to an end. Punishment for these crimes will also reassert the need for serious engagement in the political process to achieve a political solution in accordance with the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UNSC Resolution 2254.
“We still count on our allies to save the lives of Syrian civilians from the brutal attacks being carried out by the Assad regime,” Abda said. He reaffirmed the Coalition’s commitment to a political solution as he emphasized the need for the international community to shoulder its role and force the Assad regime to stop its military campaigns and sit at the negotiating table.
The two sides also discussed the tour recently made by members of the political committee to the camps housing the people who were displaced from eastern Ghouta and other parts of the liberated areas.
Member of the political committee Hadi Al-Bahra warned of the consequences of the continuation of the series of mass forced displacement and demographic change operations in Syria. He pointed out that the people who were displaced from eastern Ghouta do not receive the sufficient support and need an emergency program to meet relief and emergency needs.
Bahra noted that the displaced are very keen on helping their children carry on with the reception of education. “During our meeting with the households who arrived recently from eastern Ghouta, we noticed they were keen on enabling their children to return to school after a long interruption.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
