Press Releases

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsJune 17, 2020 Today as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act takes effect, it imposes a new equation that bypasses Russia’s longstanding obstruction – through the use of its veto power - of all international tracks seeking to reach a political solution. Caesar Act will deprive the Assad regime of a great deal of support from its backers as well as will deny it access to the resources it is using in its war against the Syrian people. The Act will also disrupt military solution once and for all and will revitalize the UN-led political process. The Act targets the Assad regime’s interests, security agencies, and senior criminals as well as everyone who supports the regime’s crimes, whether they are states, institutions, companies, or individuals. The Act excludes food, humanitarian and medical aid in order to relieve pressure on ordinary Syrians. The political negotiating track is still viable. Caesar Act can be suspended should the Assad regime stop killing, detention, and mass forced displacement as well as take concrete steps in the issue of detainees. The Act thus is a real opportunity to salvage Syria and move toward a real political...

Our dear people in our beloved country,My fellow Syrians everywhere, The situation in Syria has reached an unprecedented stage today. Syria was once a source of exports to the world, but now over 85% of its population are below poverty line. More than 11 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. For over fifty years, the freedom, economy and decision of the Syrian people have been hijacked, even in the most basic of matters. The revolution, therefore, aims to re-empower this people to regain their freedom and decision. We in the forces of the revolution and the opposition say it loud and clear: Our goal is not to come to power, but to help the Syrian people freely choose its leadership. The responsibility for the suffering of the Syrian people and the collapse of the economy lies squarely with Bashar Al-Assad and his clique. They are to blame for everything that befell Syria and which is befalling it now. The Assad regime has given in Syria's major assets, economy, and future to Russia and Iran through humiliating agreements for which the Syrian people are paying a heavy price and for this gang to remain in power. We have been reviewing...

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsJune 08, 2020 The anti-regime protests that have recently broken out in Suwayda province reveal the reality of a people who have been freed from the shackles of tyranny and rebelled against the rule of oppression. We salute the grandchildren of Sultan Basha al-Atrash, their love for their country, and unwavering resistance and resilience in the face of the regime. The ruses of the Assad regime and its backers will no longer deceive our people in Suwayda and elsewhere, especially the regime’s deployment of militias seeking to instill terror amongst the people through kidnappings, looting, and the causing of strife among Syrians inside and outside Suwayda. Our people have made it clear that they have been fed up with this outright deception, military domination, and continued security and social pressures, which has sparked the recent popular protests calling for the downfall of the murderous Assad regime once and for all. Suwayda is today chanting ‘O Dara’a! We are with you until death,’ thus thwarting the regime’s and backers’ schemes to cause strife between Suwayda and Dara’a provinces. By chanting ‘O Idlib! Suwayda is with you until death,’ Suwayda is expressing its...

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsJune 3, 2020At the height of the peaceful movement during the early months of the Syrian revolution, tens of thousands of people in Hama city took to the streets on June 3rd alongside millions of people in various Syria cities and towns in Friday protests that activists dubbed the “Children of Freedom.” Syrians across Syria chanted slogans expressing the demands and goals of the revolution, namely freedom and dignity.Survivors of the massacre became eyewitnesses to what happened that day. Multiple testimonies, reports, photos and videos confirmed that dozens of peaceful protestors were killed at the hands of the Assad regime forces and the shabiha paramilitaries in Al-Assi Square in Hama when peaceful protestors suddenly came under a barrage of live fire. Hundreds more were injured.The outbreak of mass protests in Hama city took the regime by surprise as it thought that the atrocious crimes it committed against people of the city thirty years ago; the slaughter of tens of thousands; and the destruction of entire neighborhoods would discourage residents of the city from joining the revolution. People of the city, however, stood on the side of their brethren everywhere in Syria...

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition – SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsMay 30, 2020The Syrian Opposition Coalition extends its sincere condolences to the brotherly Moroccan people on the passing of former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdulrahman Al-Yousifi. Al-Yousifi was the former Secretary-General of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (SUPF). He left behind a clear hallmark in Morocco’s modern political history in which he has been active since the middle of the last century. Following decades of his activity in the opposition ranks, reconciliation has been achieved and he was appointed as prime minister from 1998-2002. During his tenure, he played a prominent role in the peaceful political change accomplished by the sisterly Kingdom of Morocco. Nations can only be built and advanced by patriotic men and women whose only concern is to serve citizens and the homeland, whether they were in power or in the opposition. Morocco provided us with a shine example of those people, one of whom was Al-Yousifi. We offer our condolences to the sisterly Kingdom of Morocco, the Moroccan government and people as well as to the family and friends of Al-Yousifi. May he rest in peace. # # #

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsMay 30, 2020 Russia insists on pressing forward with its occupation project of Syria with the complicity and total submission of the head of the regime who chose to hand over the country to the foreign occupation rather than respecting the will of the Syrian people. The Russian President’s latest decisions to seize more naval installations and areas in Syria come in the context of exploiting the impotent international position and an attempt to legitimize the Russian occupation of Syria. The projects designed to consolidate the plans aimed at stealing the Syrian people and dividing their resources amongst gangs, terrorist militias and the occupation forces are hostile projects. The Syrian people will confront these schemes and hold those standing behind them to account. All the agreements that the Assad regime is reaching are null and void. We reaffirm that international sanctions must take effect against countries that cooperate with the regime and violate international resolutions. In the name of all Syrians, the Syrian Opposition Coalition rejects and condemns all the so-called agreements and or understandings being reached by the Assad regime. It stresses that these agreements are illegal and cannot be...

Press releaseSyrian Opposition Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsMay 29, 2020 In yet a new barbaric, sectarian act against, militants belonging to the Assad regime and Iranian terrorist militias desecrated the tomb of the Umayyad caliph Omar bin Abdul Aziz near the town of Maaret Al-Nouman in rural Idlib. The Syrian Opposition Coalition strongly condemns this barbaric act which reflects the extent of sectarian hatred of the Iranian project and its arms against the nation’s symbols. It calls for the immediate return of the remains to the bomb and the restoration of the shrine to its former shape. During the past nine years, the Assad regime and its allied foreign militias caused severe damage to historical, religious, and archaeological sites across Syria by direct bombardment or pillage. International measures must be taken to prevent further violations and damage to Syria’s rich cultural, religious heritage. The SOC stresses the need for the United Nations institutions, including UNESCO, to preserve Syria’s cultural, religious heritage and make every effort to deter further attacks by the Assad regime and Iranian militias. It is incumbent that the international community, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation assume their responsibilities with regard to...

Press releaseSyrian National Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and CommunicationsMay 25, 2020 Today marks the eighth anniversary of Houla Massacre which was committed by the Assad regime’s forces and shabiha paramilitary militants on May 25, 2012 in Houla region of rural Homs. The massacre claimed the lives of 108 civilians, mostly women and children. The massacre represented a watershed moment in terms of the extent to which the regime’s brutality reached. It also represented a blatant defiance of the international community and an escalation that also sought to test the world’s readiness to act to save civilians and put an end to the ongoing atrocities against them. Several states condemned the massacre and expelled the regime’s ambassadors. However, no concrete action was taken to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable or to prevent the recurrence of those massacres that have continued to this day and involved the use of various methods of killing and destruction, including chemical weapons. The failure to punish the perpetrators of this heinous crime represents a disgrace to all states that claim to uphold human rights or respect international law. The Syrian Coalition’s Legal Committee, along with several independent Syrian bodies and international human rights...

My fellow Syrians in our beloved country My fellow Syrians everywhere I congratulate you on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. May Allah bring with relief and victory. Eid comes while the Syrian people are going through enormous suffering. While the pillars of the regime are fighting over the billions they stole from the Syrian people, the ordinary Syrians can hardly afford a pack of bread for their children. For decades, this family has been stealing the Syrian people’s sources of livelihoods. Every additional day in the life of this regime means that the Syrian people will pay a double price. I do not mean those who revolted only, but also the regime’s loyalists. The corrupt regime is directly responsible for the crimes, massacres, mass displacement, arrests, and torture against the Syrian people. It is also to blame for the rampant corruption that led to successive economic disasters for more than half a century. Today, after the sanctions have hard hit the pillars of the regime and the symbols of corruption, the internal conflict has come to the surface in a way that indicates the extent of decay and degeneration of the regime’s internal structure, a regime that is based on...

Press releaseSyrian National Coalition - SyriaDepartment of Media and Communications May 15, 2020 The Syrian National Coalition reaffirms it stands by the people of Dara’a in the face of the Assad regime forces as it warns the international community of the dangers of the regime’s attempts to exploit international conditions to unleash a new brutal campaign in southern Syria. The demonstrations that took place in various parts of Dara’a province expressed the demands of its people, their rejection of the regime’s threats and military build-up, and the presence of Iranian militias in the region. The regime’s military-up in the south and its sending of Iranian militias to the region is an extremely dangerous escalation. The Assad regime will not be able to hide the catastrophe it brought to Syria through such moves. The Syrian people will continue their struggle with all means. They will not bow down to tyranny, chaos, and assassinations that the regime continues to commit in the region in violation of all agreements and understandings. The pretexts the regime is making are all rejected as it is the first to sow chaos, destruction, arrest, displacement and breach of agreements. The Dara’a demonstrations came to reaffirm that the...

Press releaseSyrian National CoalitionGeneral AssemblyMay 11, 2020 President of the Syrian National Coalition, Anas Abdah, opened the 50th meeting of the Syrian National Coalition’s General Assembly which took place on May 9-10, 2020 by observing a minute of silence for the fallen heroes of the Syrian revolution. The meeting relied on video links in view of the measures taken with regards to the coronavirus pandemic. President Abdah gave an overview of the most important activities, work and communications that the Coalition carried out during the past four months. He stressed that the Coalition went through difficult circumstances and faced great challenges, adding that the Coalition overcome all these thanks to its firm commitment to the principles of the revolution, the will and unity of its members, and its fulfillment of the tasks assigned to it at various levels. President Abdah outlined the Coalition's work and activities, the most important of which are: Continuing with the campaign the Coalition launched for Idlib, the refugees and internally displaced persons, consolidation of the ceasefire, and supporting the resilience of our people and the Syrian National Army. The launch of intensive, sustained campaigns to expose the Assad regime’s crimes, especially following the release of...

Press releaseDepartment of Media and CommunicationsSyrian National Coalition – SyriaMay 7, 2020 During late February and early March of this year, many Syrians who fled the war in Syria have attempted to cross to Europe through Greece. We were horrified by the treatment of the Greek authorities towards the Syrian refugees who attempted to cross the Turkey-Greece border. As we learned from primary and secondary sources that Syrian refugees, including women and children, have been subjected to unjustified violence, we have instructed Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers in London to file an official complaint to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. We have also asked them to write a communication to the organs within European Union and the Council of Europe responsible for human rights and refugees. The Syrian National Coalition connected Guernica 37 to individuals who have been directly affected by the treatment of Greek authorities at the borders, and who sustained serious physical injuries, had their belongings confiscated, and were subjected to inhumane treatment. Guernica 37 has now made the communications, detailing the horrifying accounts that each individual gave and how these acts are not in line with Greece’s international legal obligations. We call...