Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
August 19, 2022
The massacre that the PYD terrorist militia and Assad regime forces committed in the town of Al-Bab northeast of Aleppo on Friday constitutes a war crime. These forces shelled a crowded popular market, killing 15 people, including five children, and wounding 30 others, including at least 11 children.
The suffering of the Syrian people cannot end or be reduced as long as the Assad regime and its allied militias are there. This criminal alliance is based on terrorism, murder, repression and genocide, which is being manifested against our people in the liberated areas on a daily basis.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) demands immediate international action, clear condemnation of this heinous crime, and accountability for the perpetrators who have a track record of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also calls for providing international protection for the liberated areas so as to avoid deepening of the human tragedy that affects the Syrian people.
The SOC stresses that these crimes will not discourage the Syrian people from pursuing their goals. The Syrian people have been making tremendous sacrifices for eleven years in order to get rid of the Assad regime and the occupations it brought to Syria, and to regain freedom, dignity and security. The SOC calls upon the Syrian National Army to confront these terrorist forces and deter them from targeting civilians.
The daily killings of Syrian civilians in the liberated areas are due to the criminality of the Assad regime and its allied militias, and the inaction of the international community which has so far failed to advance the political process and ensure the implementation of relevant UN resolutions, especially UN Resolution 2254, to achieve a political transition that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people.
