Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
October 20, 2021
The murderous Assad regime committed yet a new war crime when its forces shelled the town of Ariha in rural Idlib with artillery in the early morning hours of Wednesday. The shelling killed at least 11 civilians, including children who were on their way to school, and injured more than 40 others, some of whom are in critical condition.
While a new session of the Constitutional Committee is being held in Geneva, the terrorist Assad regime seeks through this horrific crime to confirm that it has not changed, and that it does not believe in any solution in Syria except through killing and destruction.
In the face of such events, the international community must regain the initiative, assume its responsibility for what is happening, and realize the dangers of letting things go according to the desires and plans of the regime and its allies.
The required response to these crimes is to activate accountability; impose a political solution; and oblige the Assad regime to implement UN resolutions and agree to political transition process in accordance with the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Security Council resolutions 2118 and 2254, and in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 67/262.