187 civil society organizations operating in North and East Syria release joint statement condemning Turkish attacks

North AND EAST SYRIA — On Saturday, 187 civil society organizations in North and East Syria, including the Syriac Cross Organization for Relief and Development and the Assyrian Association for Aid and Development,  issued a joint statement denouncing the Turkish attacks on the region and called on the international community to abide by its duties and pressure Turkey to cease its violations.

In the joint statement published by the Civil Society Organization Coalition in Northeastern Syria (CSO-NES), the organizations said that the recent Turkish attacks are one among many human rights violations committed by Turkey and are a dangerous escalation of the conflict in Syria.

Turkey has targeted health centers, such as the children’s hospital in Kobane, and civilian infrastructure, including electricity generation stations and oil refining facilities, according to the statement.

The organizations condemned the military escalation in North and East Syria, as well as the bombing that occurred in Istanbul which was the supposed catalyst for the operation, and demanded an immediate end to attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The UN Security Council should hold an emergency meeting to discuss the situation, they said, and establish an international commission of inquiry to intensify evidence-gathering operations.

The organizations also appealed to the war crimes units in European countries whose national laws allow for universal jurisdiction and called on them to expand the structural investigations on international crimes in Syria so that they include those that occur in all regions of northern Syria by all parties to the conflict.