Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mansour Al-Otaibi, strongly condemned airstrikes in Syria’s northwestern Idlib region that deliberately targeted civilians while leaving infrastructure in tatters.
Al-Otaibi made the remarks on behalf of his country, alongside Belgium and Germany, during a UN Security Council session dedicated to discuss the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Syria. He strongly urged all parties to take the measures needed to protect innocent civilians and shield the infrastructure from the ongoing aerial bombardment.
Al-Otaibi lamented the “horrors” affecting civilians in many areas across Syria’s northwest, which has been subjected to a brutal bombing campaign since late April. The bombardment has so far killed hundreds of civilians and forced tens of thousands out of their homes.
Moreover, Al-Otaibi urged the UN Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities with regards to the protection of the Syrian people, especially those living in the countryside of Idlib. He lamented the Council’s failure to agree on initiatives to approve draft resolutions on the ongoing military escalation and its humanitarian impact over the past three months.
The Kuwaiti diplomat called on the major players to respect UN Security Council resolutions on civilian infrastructures, most notably resolutions 2286 and 2427 on the protection of hospitals and schools.
For the first time since the start of the onslaught on northwestern Syria, the United Nations accused Russia and the Assad regime of responsibility for the “carnage in the so-called de-escalation zone” of Idlib.
The Syrian National Coalition welcomed calls by ten member States of the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into the Assad regime and Russia’s targeting of civilian facilities and medical centers in Idlib and rural Hama during the past three months. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
