Saudi Arabia comments on war crimes in Syria’s Turkish-occupied Afrin in front of UN

Mesh'al al-Balawi, head of human rights department in the Saudi Arabia delegate in the UN – circulated
Mesh'al al-Balawi, head of human rights department in the Saudi Arabia delegate in the UN – circulated

(North Press) – Saudi Arabia expressed its concern about the report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria regarding Turkish war crimes in Afrin, northwestern Syria, and its surrounding areas.

The Saudi stance was stated by the head of the human rights department of the Saudi delegation, Mesh’al al-Balawi, on Tuesday, during an interactive dialogue session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.  

“The crimes included kidnapping of hostages, cruel treatment, torture, rape, killing, widespread looting, and seizure of private lands,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted al-Balawi.  

“The report referred to the scale of destruction and looting of heritage sites classified by UNESCO,” al-Balawi added.

Al-Balawi renewed his country’s stance towards the Syrian war and stressed that the political solution is the only solution to the Syrian crisis in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the Geneva process.

On September 15, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria published its report investigating human rights violations from January to July of 2020.