The Syrian Coalition said that the “cessation of hostilities” agreement failed to curb the brutality of the Assad regime as more than 1,000 civilians had been killed since the agreement went into effect late last February. The Coalition also said the Assad regime has not yet suffered any consequences for its war crimes and atrocities committed in Syria.
Following a briefing by the UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to the UN Security Council on Wednesday 27 April, the Special Representative of the Syrian Coalition to the United Nations, Dr. Najib Ghadbian, said: “There can be no peace while innocent women, men and children are being slaughtered by regime aircraft, starved by regime forces, and detained and tortured in regime jails.”
“The Syrian opposition has been clear since day one: the only sustainable path towards a political solution in Syria is for the killing of civilians to stop,” Ghadbian added.
Ghadbian stressed that “the Assad regime will not stop its war crimes of its own accord. It will only do so under meaningful international pressure from the international community.”
“It is therefore imperative that Member States and especially the ISSG take the action needed to protect civilians from indiscriminate bombing, break the sieges across Syria, demand the release of detainees, and support the efforts of Special Envoy de Mistura to save the political negotiations in Geneva in order to implement a political solution based on resolution 2254.”
Ghadbian concluded his statement by stressing that “through their actions, Member States can solve the crisis in Syria and save lives immediately. It is not a question of feasibility; it is a question of political will.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
