Press Statement

Syrian Coalition

Istanbul, Turkey

January 7, 2013

The Syrian Coalition is extremely concerned about the fate of over 1200 civilians detained on Sunday, January 5, by Assad's shabiha and Abu al-Fadel al-Abbas militias at a checkpoint on the road from the village of Yalda to the village of Hujeirah, in southern Damascus.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, issued a report on December 19, 2013, outlining enforced disappearances throughout Syria by Assad’s forces, as part of a campaign of intimidation and as a tactic of war against civilians amounting to a crime against humanity.

The Assad regime promised residents of Yalda safe exit, after a lengthy bitter campaign of systematic starvation against areas in southern Damascus, but its militias detained at least 1200 people, including women and children, as they made their way out. The fate of these civilians remains unknown.

The Syrian Coalition calls upon the international community to act immediately to free the recently detained civilians, as well as civilians and human rights activists detained by the Assad regime during the past three years.

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.