UN Security Council Must Take Urgent Action as Assad Regime & Russia Violate UNSC Resolution 2401

Press release

Syrian Coalition

Media Department

February 28, 2018

Despite the UN Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2401, airstrikes by the Assad regime and Russian occupation forces continued to pound the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta, targeting residential areas and civilian homes. The bombings killed dozens of people, including a whole family in the town of Douma.

The Assad regime and Russia are showing total disregard for the resolution, making it a dead letter and an opportunity to carry on with the genocide in eastern Ghouta.

This disregard is not surprising given the Assad regime and Russia’s track record of violating all international resolutions as well as the international community’s continued inaction.

Criminals are resting reassured that they will not face the consequences of the massacres they are committing and can carry on with the genocide and extermination despite all the resolutions the UN Security Council issued on Syria. These resolutions will remain a dead letter as long as they are not enforced.

After cherishing hope that the UN resolution will provide them with some relief, civilians in eastern Ghouta are now enduring unimaginable suffering.

Sounds of constant airstrikes and bombings can be clearly heard in conversations with civilians trapped inside eastern Ghouta. Civil defense teams confirmed that the bombardment intensified following the adoption of the UN resolution and that more warplanes are now being used in the bombing campaign. They also confirmed that aerial bombardment as well as artillery and rocket shelling continue to target all of eastern Ghouta. They also said that new ammunitions and advanced rockets are being used in the bombings.

The ongoing onslaught on eastern Ghouta can only be classified as a genocide and a crime against humanity that are taking place right under the watchful eyes of the international community which bears primary responsibility for these crimes as it has so far failed to punish the perpetrators. This failure has encouraged the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran to commit more crimes.

The Syrian Coalition stresses that Russia, which has become a key party to the conflict, bears direct responsibility for war crimes being committed in Syria thus providing a free service to transnational terrorism and terrorist organizations.

The Coalition calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards Syrian civilians as it calls on the United Nations and the UN Security Council to overcome Russia’s continued disabling of the Council. It also calls for urgent measures and the exertion of real pressure to stop the ongoing genocide in Ghouta.