Arab League condemns Assad regime practices in Aleppo

By Mustafa Abu Harun and Khaled Ibrahim

CAIRO (AA) – The Arab League late Monday condemned the "practices" of the Assad regime and its allies in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo.

At the end of an emergency meeting held at the foreign ministers’ level to discuss the situation in Aleppo, 20 league member-states signed on to a final communiqué that denounced "the practices of the Syrian regime, its allies, terrorist organizations, and all those who caused suffering to the Syrian people in Aleppo".

Member-states also stressed their commitment to maintaining Syria’s sovereignty and unity, calling for a "political solution" to the conflict based on the participation of all Syrian parties involved.

Lebanon was the only country to refrain from signing on to the final league statement, stressing its desire to avoid involvement in the "internal struggles of sister countries" and calling for "political solutions that maintain the [country’s] unity, sovereignty and stability".

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, for his part, held Syria’s Assad regime responsible for what he described as "the brutal military operations and severe violations committed in Aleppo against its people".

He also called for a ceasefire in war-torn Syria, stressing the need to protect Syrian civilians.

Monday’s session was held based on Kuwaiti calls for a league meeting to discuss the situation in Aleppo after the Assad regime and allied foreign terrorist groups carried out violations against civilians after recently entering the city’s opposition-held eastern districts.

The UN Security Council on Monday voted unanimously to send monitors to eastern Aleppo, where thousands of civilian residents are being evacuated from what was once considered an opposition stronghold.