The Syrian regime adds anew to its attacks and massacres on civilians each passing day.

It is learned that after the massacres near Damascus, forces and militias loyal to the regime slaughtered hundreds of people, mostly women and children, at the Al-Bayda village of Baniyas as well as in at the center of Baniyas, in the Governorate of Tartous. Most of the victims' throats were slit and many of the corpses were burned. We strongly condemn such a savagery.

These developments, which reveal that the Syrian regime has started an ethnic cleansing operation, constitute a crime against humanity. In addition, there are ever-strenghtening indications that the regime, which attacks its own people without distinction with ballistic missiles and heavy weaponry from the land, the sea and the air, has recently been using chemical weapons. As is known, the regime did not yet give permission to the UN fact finding mission that has been mandated to investigate this matter.

The Syrian regime, by the policies it pursues, poses a serious threat to the stability and security of the region. We find it deeply regrettable that some parties outside Syria become complicit in the crimes that are being committed by giving every kind of support to the regime. We call on the these parties to abandon such attitude and on the international community to adopt a clear and explicit stance towards the crimes against humanity committed in front of our eyes.

It is time for the international community to act to stop the inhumane actions of the regime disregarding international law and universal principles. Accordingly, we once again invite the relevant institutions and organizations, particularly the UN Security Council, to take the necessary measures resolutely and rapidly to put an end to the crimes being committed by the Syrian regime.