Syrian American Council urges US to take Russia to task

WASHINGTON

The Syrian American Council has called on the U.S. administration to take action against Russia in response to its airstrikes on civilians in Syria.

"Russia is in flagrant violation of international law," the council president, Mirna Barq, said in a statement Monday, noting Russia’s airstrikes on civilians and humanitarian aid facilities in northern Syria as well as its recent violation of Turkish airspace.

"The Syrian American Council and Syrian American community join the Turkish American community in condemning Russia's deliberate attacks on Turkish aid convoys, its repeated targeting of the Turkmen minority and other civilians in Syria, and its repeated violations of Turkish airspace," Barq added in the statement

She also called on U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration to stand by its NATO ally Turkey against the Moscow-imposed sanctions.

"We deeply condemn the decision by Russia this weekend to impose economic sanctions on Turkey and call upon the United States to take strong steps, such as kicking Russia out of the international SWIFT code system, to force the [Russian President Vladimir] Putin regime to immediately lift all sanctions on Turkish food and exports," she said.

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about transactions in a secure way.

Barq also noted her organization's support for a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border "to protect civilians and refugees from the terror of ISIS [Daesh], the merciless bombardments of Russian warplanes, and the continued brutal attacks of the Assad regime".

Turkey downed a Russian SU-24 bomber last week after it violated Turkish airspace despite several warnings. One of the pilots was killed during the incident while the other was rescued by the Russian forces.

Russian jets have indiscriminately targeted civilians and human aid convoys and facilities causing devastating civilian casualties, according to the U.S. officials. Russian airstrikes mostly targeted Syrian opposition groups despite Moscow’s claims that it was striking Daesh.

According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Russian airstrikes in Syria have so far killed over 400 civilians, including at least 97 children since Russia began its air campaign in September.

Russia, over the weekend, bombed a crowded vegetable market in Ariha, Idlib, killing over 40 civilians and a bakery operated by Turkish humanitarian aid organization IHH that served tens of thousands of internally-displaced people in Idlib province.