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International community not serious about protecting civilians, claims Syrian opposition official

February 17, 2017 at 12:30 pm

Civilians and search and rescue team members carry out search and rescue works after a warcraft belonging to Syrian army hit Binnish town of Idlib in Syria on 12 January, 2017 [Gaes Sayid/Anadolu Agency]

The chief negotiator for the Syrian opposition delegation for the 2017 Geneva talks, Mohamed Sabra, has said that the international community does not appear to be serious about the protection of civilians in his country.

“Unfortunately, we have a number of UN Security Council resolutions that were issued for the benefit of the Syrian people and their fair cause in building a state of freedom, dignity and equality,” Sabra told Anadolu, “but the international will to force the regime to comply with these resolutions is still hesitant and shy.”

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He explained that UN resolution 2218 authorises the use of force to implement the resolution based on Chapter VII of the UN Charter in the event of non-compliance by any of the parties involved.

Remarking on the Russian role in Syria, Sabra said that Moscow’s position has not changed, pointing out that it continues to support the Assad regime and its crimes, and gives it political cover by using its veto to block any UN Security Council resolution against Damascus.