Syria’s main political opposition has urged the international community to stop attempts by the Assad regime to storm the town of Al-Tal in the Damascus countryside and empty it of its local population.
In a press release issued on Friday, the Syrian National Coalition said the threat must not be ignored as the regime has already shown its willingness to commit crimes of unimaginable proportions to achieve its goals.
Assad regime forces recently escalated its artillery and aerial bombardment of Al-Tal despite a so-called truce being put in place, the Coalition said. The regime’s escalation, which is being accompanied by attempts to storm the town, came despite the Free Syrian Army agreeing to engage in a new round of negotiations with the Assad regime.
The Coalition believes the siege is clearly aimed at forcing residents of the town out of their homes through the use of starvation, water, electricity blackouts and the deployment of checkpoints on the outskirts of the town to terrorize civilians.
The Assad regime has pursued a policy of siege, starvation and bombing of residential areas and civilian infrastructure to break the will of the Syrian people and force them to leave their homes, the Coalition said.
Forced displacement and besiegement are war crimes under international law and international humanitarian law.
The Coalition stressed that the international community and the United Nations Security Council are obliged to force the Assad regime and its allies to respect international resolutions and warn them that there will be consequences for their actions.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
