France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday his country was working on a United Nations Security Council resolution aimed at stopping Assad’s forces from using barrel bombs against Syrian civilians.
Western diplomats have said a resolution demanding an end to barrel bombing – something that France has previously been spearheading with Spain – would be helpful as it would emphasize the Syrian government’s continued use of such weapons, in clear violation of international law.
Russia and China have already used their veto four times to block Security Council action in Syria, including one that would have referred the Syrian conflict to the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity.
According to a report issued by the Syrian Network for Human Rights on Wednesday, the Assad regime dropped nearly 1,715 barrel bombs in September, the most of which targeted rural Damascus.
The report said that 99% of the victims of these barrel bombs are civilians, with the ration of women and children ranging between 12% and 35% in some cases.
The Syrian Coalition has repeatedly called for passing a binding UN Security Council resolution to stop Assad’s use barrel bombs barrels, considering it a violation of the UN Resolution 2139 which calls for stopping indiscriminate targeting of civilians. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)
