Press Release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
November 28, 2024
The assaults launched months ago by regime forces and Iranian-backed foreign militias on northern Syria have intensified daily. These attacks employ rocket and artillery shelling, as well as drone strikes, targeting civilians and public infrastructure. The latest atrocity by the Assad regime, a drone strike on a school in Ariha this past Tuesday, claimed the lives of several civilians, including children.
These escalating attacks have increased public demands to halt such hostilities, which appear to be a prelude to more aggressive operations aimed at exacerbating civilian suffering, causing new waves of displacement and refugees, and destabilizing northwestern Syria. In response, military leaders in these areas have initiated operations to counter the regime’s plans and those of its Iranian-backed militias. Their objectives are to deter further assaults, protect civilians in northwestern Syria, and ensure the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of displaced individuals to their towns and villages liberated from the Iranian-backed sectarian militias.
Millions of Syrians cannot accept the continuation of the current dire situation. They are enduring immense suffering amid declining humanitarian aid, ongoing war crimes, and the persistent dominance of Iranian influence and its militias on Syrian territories. The Assad regime and these sectarian militias continue to attack civilians, while the political process remains frozen and obstructed by the regime under flimsy pretexts. It is imperative to lead Syria to safety, protect it from divisive and separatist agendas, and restore it as an independent state with full sovereignty over its territory. Syria must become a nation governed by democratic principles, justice, freedom, and the rule of law—ensuring the rights and freedoms of all its citizens, regardless of their backgrounds.
The Assad regime and its backers must recognize that there is no alternative to returning to the UN-mediated negotiation table to achieve a political solution. This solution must fully and strictly implement the relevant UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, particularly Resolutions 2254 and 2118. No sustainable resolution can reunify Syria, its land, and its people except through this path.
