Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has warned of any delay to dealing with the current tragic situation in Aleppo, noting that this would have serious repercussions on the future of Syria and the fate of its people. Al-Thani stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire across Syria.
Speaking during an extraordinary meeting for Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo on Monday, Al-Thani stressed the need to take serious and effective steps at the Arab and international levels to solve the Syrian crisis. He warned of plans by the Assad regime to change the demography of many areas across Syria through forced mass displacement of the local population.
Qatar’s top diplomat said there is no justification or logic that allows the Arab League to fail to fulfill its role towards the Syrian people in the midst of these heinous crimes as well as the grave breaches of international humanitarian law and the violation of the rights of innocent civilians in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria.
Al-Thani stressed Qatar’s position calling for an immediate ceasefire across Syria and the need for the Arab League to take a united stance and start working with the concerned international sides to find a mechanism that compels the Assad regime to stop attacks against civilians; lift the siege on all Syrian regions; allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in need; and ensure that civilians are allowed to return to their homes.
Meanwhile, a draft resolution condemning war crimes in Syria will be put to vote at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. The resolution will call for the establishment of an independent international investigation mechanism to look into the war crimes being committed by the Assad regime forces and their allied foreign militias across Syria.
The draft resolution, presented by Qatar and Liechtenstein with the support of Arab and Western countries, will call on the UN Secretary General to lay out a mechanism for accountability for war crimes in Syria. It will also call on the UN secretary-general to submit a report on the implementation of the resolution within 45 days of its adoption.
The Syrian Coalition on Monday said that Russia must stop attacks on civilian infrastructure and residential areas before proposing any political initiative to find a solution in Syria.
The Coalition called on Russia to stop its bombing campaign on Syria as was required by all international resolutions, adding that Russia violates the very UN resolutions it co-drafted and approved.
The Arab League on Thursday announced its support for efforts to hold an urgent meeting of the UN General Assembly to stop the massacres the Assad regime and its allies are carrying out in the city of Aleppo. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office + Agencies)
