Coalition laments ‘weak’ UN response

CALL FOR ACTION: The president of Syrian National Coalition Ahmad al-Jarba denounced in a video statement on Wednesday “the weak response of the international community in the face of the regime’s crimes” following the release of the UN investigation team’s conclusion not placing blame on any party for the chemical attacks in suburban Damascus on August 21.

Speaking from Coalition headquarters in Istanbul, Jarba demanded the “declaration of a no-fly zone” in addition to “removing chemical weapons from the regime and punishing the criminals behind all the massacres in Syria.”

The opposition accuses the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons against civilians in Eastern Ghouta on August 21^st which killed more than 1,400 Syrians. Jarba blames “international silence” for encouraging the regime to use chemical weapons against its people.”

The Obama administration has walked back a threat to hit regime targets in Syria to weaken Assad’s power and destroy Syrian chemical weapons as  the Russian initiative to place Syrian chemical weapons under international surveillance and eventually destroy them plays itself out. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday told the Congress that “it’s important to keep the threat of using power on the table to ensure Assad complies.” Video courtesy of the Syrian National Coalition.