US Condemns Tadamon Massacre In Syria, Demands Accountability
The US State Department condemned on Saturday the atrocities depicted in a recently released video, showing blindfolded, unarmed civilians being shot point-blank by an Assad regime official before falling into a mass grave.
The 2013 massacre in the area of Tadamon, Syria, reportedly killed hundreds of Syrian civilians.
Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement that the massacre suggests additional evidence of war crimes committed by the Assad regime, and is yet another harrowing example of the horrors that the Syrian people have endured for more than a decade.
The State Department then commended the brave individuals who work to bring Assad and his regime to justice, often at the risk of their own lives.
“This includes the vital work of Syrian civil society organizations to document violations of the law of armed conflict as well as human rights abuses and violations and their efforts to advance transitional justice,” Price stressed.
He said that the US government remains firmly committed to securing accountability for the atrocities the Assad regime continues to inflict upon Syrians.
“Accountability and justice for the crimes, violations, and abuses committed against Syrians are essential to a stable, just, and enduring peace in Syria and the region,” the US spokesman noted.
Last Wednesday, the Guardian released a video clip showing members of branch 227 of the country’s military intelligence service carrying out mass executions of civilians in the Tadamon neighborhood, south of Damascus.
The video, dating back to 2013, depicts a group of blindfolded and handcuffed detainees shot dead by a Syrian intelligence officer as they are forced to run toward an execution pit.
It also showed members of the Syrian regime’s forces piling bodies on top of each other and burning them.
Meanwhile, the US State Department issued a statement on the results of Thursday’s meeting between representatives of the Arab League, Egypt, the European Union, France, Germany, Iraq, Jordan, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States to discuss Syria.
The representatives had expressed their lasting commitment to alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people and welcomed the upcoming EU-hosted Brussels 6 Conference for the future of Syria and the region.
“We emphasized the urgency of continuing to provide meaningful and sufficient support to Syrian refugees and host countries,” the representatives stressed.
They also reiterated their steadfast support for UNSE Geir Pedersen’s efforts to push forward a political solution that brings an end to the Syrian crisis based on UNSCR 2254 and respects the unity and territorial integrity of Syria.
“We stressed the importance of sustaining and increasing UN-mandated aid cross-border into Syria, the re-authorization of the cross border aid delivery mechanism, that allows for life-saving humanitarian assistance to reach the Syrian people, and continued implementation of UNSCR 2585,” the representative said in their joint statement.
Source: Asharq Al-Awsat
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