Syria opposition welcomes UK’s pledge to hold war criminals to account

The Syrian National Coalition yesterday welcomed Britain’s announcement that it was fully committed to holding to account officials responsible for war crimes in Syria.

Earlier on Friday, Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced in a statement that as Brexit came into effect on 31 December 2020, sanctions it used to impose through the European Union against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and its enablers will now be implemented autonomously, through UK regulations.

In response to the announcement, the Syrian National Coalition said in a statement that it is fully prepared to cooperate with the United Kingdom to follow up on the implementation of the US’ Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, also known as the Caesar Act, until all criminals are held accountable, and a political solution is implemented in accordance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The coalition stressed that the crimes against humanity and the gross violations of human rights committed by the Syrian regime against the Syrian people require exceptional positions from international actors to ensure holding to account all criminals.

It said it held the Syrian regime responsible for wasting the country’s resources to support its war against the people.

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