Regime forces have stepped up the bombing of Khan al-Shih in south-western rural Damascus, shelling the besieged town with at least 35 barrel bombs, dozens of rockets and napalm on Monday.
Local activists said that the Assad regime’s escalating military campaign followed the refusal of its residents to evacuate the town. They pointed out that the Assad regime dispatched a delegation to Khan al-Shih days ago ordering residents to evacuate towards the provinces of Daraa or Idleb or the town would be obliterated.
Member of the Syrian National Coalition Mohammed Jojah said that the Assad regime’s mass forced displacement operations, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, risk causing sectarian war with unpredictable and dire consequences on the security of the entire region.
Jojah criticized the international community’s failure to take action against the regime’s policies, saying that apart from shy calls by some friendly countries to end the conflict, the international community has not yet assumed its responsibility to put an end to the crimes of the Assad regime and its allies.
Since early September, regime forces have tightened the siege on the town, which is home to around 12,000 Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom are children.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
