Vice-president of the Syrian National Coalition, Oqab Yahya, on Monday held a press conference to talk about the grave developments in Idlib province. He stressed the need to stop the Assad regime and Russia’s onslaught against civilians, adding that the friends of the Syrian people must prove that they are real friends in such dire circumstances.
Yahya said that the reality on the ground requires taking effective measures to save civilians in Syria and salvage the credibility of the United Nations.
He called for an immediate halt to the ongoing onslaught on Idlib; saving the wounded and transferring them to receive the necessary treatment; expanding the scope of humanitarian assistance to meet the basic and emergency needs in the areas of shelter, food, education, health and services for the IDP and residents of those areas.
Yahya called for the UN Security Council members to submit draft resolutions with Russia being considered as a party to the conflict in accordance with provisions of Chapter VI and paragraph 3 of Article 52, with the activation of paragraph 3 of Article 27 of the UN Charter stipulating that sates that are parties to a conflict abstain from voting.
Moreover, Yahya called for referring the situation in Syria to the UN General Assembly in order to take deterrent measures in cases of non-compliance on the part of the regime and its backers with international resolutions.
Yahya said that there is a need to continue the delivery of cross-border humanitarian aid by renewing UN Security Council resolutions 2165 (2014) and 2449 (2018), or through an alternative mechanism that bypasses the Russian veto used to block the international consensus on the UN Security Council and which was repeatedly used as a tool of warfare against the Syrian people.
Yahya pointed out that the Syrian National Coalition’s political committee is in permanent session and it conducts extensive contacts with all sides to ensure an immediate end to military operations. He noted that the Coalition had sent letters to all active states and international organizations stressing the need for an immediate end to the criminal onslaught on Idlib province.
Furthermore, Yahya said that the Assad regime, Russian occupation, and the Iranians reject all international solutions and insist on pursuing a terrorist criminal solution. “They are also showing utter disregard for the United Nations resolutions and the principles of international law and showing total disrespect and insults for the international community which receives them with a complete lack of responsibility towards the lives of the victims.” (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
