The United Nations warned of threats to the Middle East as a result of the continued military escalation by the Assad regime and Russia in the ‘de-escalation zone’ in northwestern Syria.
This came at an emergency session of the UN Security Council held in New York at the request of a German-Belgian-Kuwaiti joint to discuss the situation in Idlib.
“The continuing fighting in Idlib has become a threat to regional stability,” UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council members.
“There must be a collective political will to reach a solution, especially since violence has not stopped despite repeated calls for calm,” DiCarlo said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Turesday said: “I am deeply concerned about the escalation of the fighting in Idlib and the situation is specially dangerous given the involvement of an increased number of actors. Yet again civilians are paying a horrific price,” Guterres told reporters.”
“There is no military solution to the Syrian crisis. The solution must be political,” Guterres said, stressing the need to respect human rights and international humanitarian law “even in the fight against terrorism.”
The United States asked that political aspects of the conflict also be addressed at the UN Security Council meeting, a diplomat said.
The Syrian Coalition earlier said that Russia bears primary responsibility for the military escalation in Idlib province. It stressed that Russia’s role has been “exposed” in giving orders to the Assad regime and the other terrorist militias to bomb civilian areas and the Turkish observation points.
The Coalition pointed out that Russia’s violation of the Idlib agreement, which was meant to pave the way for a nationwide ceasefire, confirmed Moscow’s intentions to carry on with the bloody military solution.
The Assad regime, Russia, and the Iranian terrorist militias have launched a brutal bombing campaign in the ‘de-escalation zone’ in northwestern Syria since April 26.
The Emergency Response Coordinators Team said that it counted 40 civilian deaths last week, including 11 children. The figure brought to 769 the number of civilians who have been killed in the bombing campaign since last February. The victims included 221 children. The bombardment has also forced around 551,877 people out of their homes, the Team added. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
