Mekdad:

Syria’s Enemies Blatantly Violating International Law, Killing Women, Children

Rasa - Syrian Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mekdad affirmed that Syria’s enemies have blatantly violated international humanitarian law through killing women and children, destroying infrastructure, and committing crimes, yet no one has condemned these crimes.

News ID: 429820

Date: 22 May 2017 - 23:17

RNA - This came during a speech by Mekdad at a workshop held at Sheraton Hotel in Damascus by the Syrian National Committee for International Humanitarian Law to introduce the international humanitarian law under the title “International Humanitarian Law in Syria, a reality and ambition” in cooperation with the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Damascus and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), SANA reported.

Mekdad said that the workshop will pave the way for educational, health, and other institutions in Syria to learn about international humanitarian law and its provisions, principles, and general rules.

He noted the role of the SARC since the beginning of the crisis in Syria and the huge burden it has endured throughout the days of the war in facing the challenges and providing the needs of the Syrian people, adding that Syria cooperates with the ICRC represented by its mission.

He affirmed that Syria’s enemies have blatantly violated international humanitarian law, as they have killed women and children, destroyed infrastructure, and committed crimes, most recent of these being the massacre committed by ISIL terrorists against the locals of Aqareb al-Safiyeh village to the East of Salamiyeh city where they beheaded children and cut open the stomachs of pregnant women, adding “we have not heard anyone condemn these crimes, which are indeed crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

“We are working, in cooperation with our partners in the SARC and ICRC, to educate our people about the dangers of crimes committed in armed conflicts, which no one talks about, especially those committed by armed terrorist organizations which are supported externally,” Mekdad said.

He asserted that the supporters of terrorist organizations should also bear responsibility for what is happening because they have armed, financed, and trained terrorists in violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law.

He asserted that the cooperation between Syria and the ICRC is at its best, adding that no international body in Syria has carried out its tasks in a convenient way as much as the ICRC has done throughout Syria, adding that the ICRC is an organization that respects the sovereignty of Syria, noting the exemplary cooperation between the Commission and the SARC.

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