SDC condemns Syrian government’s “massacre” in Deir ez-Zor

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) condemned on Friday the “massacre” committed by the Syrian government forces and their affiliated militias against civilians in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria. 

In a statement published on its official website, the SDC said it “follows with deep concern” the military escalation in the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, “particularly the horrific massacre committed by the regime and its allies” in the town of al-Dahla and the village of Jadeed Bakkarah, east of Deir ez-Zor.

The SDC considered this “brutal aggression”, which claimed the lives of 11 civilians, most of them children and women, to be a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The SDC held the Syrian government fully responsible for the consequences and warned against continuing this aggressive approach.

“The SDC condemns this heinous crime in the strongest terms and holds the regime and its allies fully responsible for the crime’s consequences,” the statement read. 

It warned against the dangers of continuing this aggressive approach, which threatens the future of the political process and the security of the entire region. 

The SDC called on the international community to take immediate and decisive action and to shoulder its moral and legal responsibilities in protecting Syrian civilians.

On Aug. 7, dozens of Syrian government-backed and Iranian-backed militants infiltrated villages and towns in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and launched a ground attack against areas on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River, east of Deir ez-Zor.

Early on Friday, the government forces shelled the town of al-Dahla and the village of Jadeed Bakkarah, east of Deir ez-Zor, and killed 11 civilians and injured six others, the SDF Media Center said.

By Saad al-Yaziji