Syria – Humanitarian situationn (10 January 2018)

France condemns the intense bombing carried out by aircraft belonging to Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its allies in the region of Idlib over the last few days, especially those targeted against the civilian population and several hospitals. We reaffirm that the attacks deliberately targeting the health centers violate international law.

We express our deep concern at the humanitarian crisis following this new air and ground offensive in the region of Idlib. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee over the last few weeks.

France is outraged that hundreds of thousands of civilians in Eastern Ghouta are still under siege from the attacks carried out by Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which is refusing to allow the emergency medical evacuation of hundreds of people, including many children.

We demand that the commitments made in Astana be upheld in order to put an end to the violence as swiftly as possible. Full, safe and unrestricted humanitarian access to all populations in need must be ensured immediately.

This further deterioration of the situation in several regions in Syria underscores the urgent need for a political solution within the framework of UNSCR 2254.