Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
February 27, 2023
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) strongly condemns the recent onslaught by the Assad regime on liberated areas in Syria. On Monday, the regime bombarded the outskirts of Idlib city with heavy artillery, targeting populated areas near camps for internally displaced persons. This attack comes in the aftermath of an earthquake that caused widespread destruction and left thousands of people without shelter.
The Assad regime’s continued use of extreme brutality against innocent civilians has caused the Syrian people to suffer double and continuous hardships. Those fleeing their homes due to the earthquake, as well as those displaced from their cities by the regime’s bombing, massacres, and violations, now face renewed attacks that have turned IDP camps into a living nightmare.
The SOC stresses that efforts to normalize relations with this criminal regime by some countries is a grave mistake. Rehabilitating this regime amounts to accepting its crimes and brutality and giving it a green light to continue its aggression against the Syrian people. Since 2011, the Assad regime has committed countless crimes against the Syrian people, including chemical attacks, mass killings, arrests, and torture.
The Syrian people have sacrificed for over a decade and will not accept the imposition of the Assad regime on them again. They will continue their struggle until they achieve their goal of building a new, free Syria where there is no place for the Assad regime. The Syrian people will not be discouraged by the inaction of the international community, which has failed to hold the war criminal Assad accountable or implement UN resolutions that guarantee political transition in Syria.
We call on Arab parliamentarians who visited the regime in Damascus on Monday to show their solidarity with the victims of the earthquake in northwestern Syria by visiting them instead of supporting their oppressor. We urge them to assist the victims and not become mere witnesses to people being killed.