Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
November 25, 2023
In a heinous act today, Assad’s forces targeted the Idlib countryside, claiming the lives of nine civilians, including children, during the olive harvest. This appalling crime underscores the urgent need for a resolute international response to strengthen accountability for the ongoing war crimes perpetrated by the Assad regime against the Syrian people.
The village of Qaqfin in the Idlib countryside fell victim to bombing by Assad’s forces on Saturday. The attack specifically targeted a family engaged in the olive harvest, resulting in the tragic loss of nine innocent lives, including women and children.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) urgently calls on the countries guaranteeing the Astana process to uphold the understandings and protocols they have signed regarding the ceasefire. It urges them to prevent any hostile acts targeting civilians and public facilities, emphasizing the necessity of deterring the Assad regime and its allied militias.
The SOC underscores that the Assad regime persistently follows a criminal approach, blatantly disregarding international laws and norms that safeguard civilian lives and condemn their direct targeting. Exploiting international inaction and the absence of a concerted will to activate accountability mechanisms, the regime continues its horrifying crimes against innocent Syrians.
The SOC appeals to the UN Security Council to condemn the war crime perpetrated today. It calls for decisive action through legal and political means to halt the crimes of the Assad regime and its allies. The SOC demands serious efforts to hold them accountable, impose stringent international sanctions, and establish a concrete mechanism for accountability. The Coalition stresses that lasting security, stability, and peace hinge on implementing Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015). It emphasizes the need to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people for a secure, dignified state founded on principles of freedom, law, justice, and democracy.
