Press Statement
Syrian Coalition
Istanbul, Turkey
December 1, 2013
At least 5 people drowned after a boat carrying Syrian refugees, fleeing Assad’s death machine, capsized off the Turkish coast on Friday November 29. The Turkish coastguard managed to save 9 people who were on the boat. In search of a safe haven, hundreds of Syrians, on a daily basis, risk their lives to flee. Innocent civilians fleeing death inside the country should not be forced to meet a similar fate outside of it.
We cannot forget that Assad’s forces continue to kill people ruthlessly across Syria. A new massacre, carried out by airstrikes on November 30 on a market in the city of al-Bab, rural Aleppo, took the lives of at least 12 civilians.
According to the latest figures from the United Nations, nearly 3 million Syrians are registered refugees in the Middle East. They suffer extremely difficult circumstances including freezing temperatures, unclean water, and the lack of access to cooking facilities or decent sanitation. We call on the United Nations, relief organizations, and donor countries to step up their support to hosting countries as they face enormous challenges now that winter has come.
The tragic plight of the Syrian refugees will be eased when the international community realizes and addresses the root cause of the Syrian tragedy: Assad’s continued destruction of Syria and its people. Once Assad’s tyrannical regime is stopped from whipping out entire neighborhoods using explosive barrels and Scud missiles, Syrian refugees will be able to return to their homes and build a new free Syria.
We ask for Mercy for our martyrs, health for our wounded, and freedom for our detainees.
Long live Syria and its people, free and with honor.
