President of the Syrian National Coalition Riad Seif has called on the international community to stop the brutal onslaught being waged by the Assad regime and its allies on Daraa and surrounding towns and villages.
In a letter to the United Nations and a number of other international and regional bodies, Seif stressed that the escalating onslaught on Daraa constitutes a blatant violation of the cease-fire agreement and all international resolutions, adding that it “also constitutes a major threat to the prospects of reaching a political solution in Syria.”
“Should the Assad regime and its allies be allowed to pursue a military solution in Daraa the way they did in Aleppo under shameful international inaction, [Syrian President Bashar] al-Assad would lose every incentive to engage in a political process toward genuine political transition,” Seif said. He warned that the “Syrian people will completely lose faith in the political process which has been thus far the strategic choice of the Syrian opposition.”
Seif called on the international community to address the deteriorating situation in Daraa, especially the exodus of civilians towards the Jordanian border and the terrible living conditions in the area. Furthermore, Seif called for taking “every possible measure to address the humanitarian disaster incurred by the regime’s onslaught, [in order] to ease the suffering of the civilian population.”
Urgent action needs to be taken to force the Assad regime and its allies to stop the onslaught on Daraa and engage seriously and in good faith in the political process, Seif added.
Seif pointed out that it is time the international community established a mechanism through which such violations of international resolutions and international law can no longer go unpunished.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
