The Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday condemned civilian bloodshed in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
Assad regime said on Thursday it was starting a new wide offensive to recapture the rebel-held parts of Aleppo after a week-long ceasefire was declared officially over on Monday. the offensive includes a ground assault, artillery bombardment, and intensive airstrikes.
Since last Monday, at least 213 civilians have been killed in rebel-held areas of Aleppo province, including the besieged eastern part of the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Sunday.
OIC Secretary-General Iyad Madani, for his part, denounced the bombardment of civilian areas in Aleppo and attacks on aid convoys in the war-battered city.
In a statement, Madani called on the international community to intervene to halt the ongoing bloodshed in Aleppo.
Iyad Ameen Madani said the “continuous shelling of civilians in the besieged city and the destruction of humanitarian convoys are war crimes for which the Syrian regime must be held accountable.”
Madani said the “parties supporting the regime must bear the responsibility for the continuation of these violations,” an apparent dig at Russia and Iran which are actively supporting the government of dictator Bashar al-Assad.”
Madani said the parties that pledged to stop the hostilities and enforce a humanitarian truce must “intervene immediately to stop the killing and massacres.”
He also urged the United Nations “to act in accordance with its responsibility under the Charter to stop these dangerous violations of the international humanitarian law being committed in Aleppo.”
Madani noted that when he met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon at the UN Headquarters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week, the topic was about the deteriorating situation in Aleppo.
Arab League condemns
In statement, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit termed the ongoing airstrikes by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes in Aleppo as “brutal”.
“This dangerous escalation reflects the misbelief by some parties of the possibility of imposing a military solution on the ground,” he said.
The Assad regime forces has been tightening its grip on rebel-held districts of Aleppo this year, and this summer achieved a long-held goal of fully encircling the area.
Recovering full control of the rebels’ last significant urban area would be the most important victory of the war so far for Assad, strengthening his control over Syria’s most populous and strategically important regions.
The Syrian crisis began as a peaceful demonstration against the injustice in Syria. Assad regime used to fire power and violence against the civilians and led to armed resistance. 450.000 Syrians lost their lives in the past five years according to UN estimates, and more than 12 million have lost their homes.
