Qatar Backs Global Efforts To Hold Assad Regime Accountable

Qatar backs global efforts to hold Assad regime accountable

the city of Homs in Syria

Qatar has once again given its full support towards global efforts to hold the Bashar Al Assad regime of Syria accountable for the Douma chemical attack of 2018 following further “evidence of the use of chemical weapons against civilians”coming to light, according to Doha News.

In a statement on Saturday, Qatar’s foreign ministry reiterated the need to prosecute Syrian “war criminals” before the international court of justice calling Assad’s government an “unscrupulous and inhumane regime”.

The statement followed the release of a report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that concluded that the Russia-backed Syrian regime was most likely responsible for the chemical attack on Douma, in spite of which other Gulf countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Jordan resumed ties with Assad.

Qatar stands unwaveringly firm on its stance, repeatedly refusing to normalise relations with the Assad regime for ongoing crimes against Syrians.

“In our region the international community has failed to hold the war criminals in Syria accountable for what they [are] perpetuating. And in further disillusionment, some are seeking to turn the page on the tragedy of the Syrian people,” Amir Tamim told the UN in September.

Qatar was among the countries that openly demanded Assad step down since the beginning of the Syria uprising in 2011, and was the first Arab country to shut down its embassy and established a consulate for the Syrian opposition.

According to the Financial Times in 2013, Qatar assisted the Syrian opposition with $3 billion in the first two years of the war. The Gulf country also reportedly operated a training base for rebels in 2014 in conjunction with US military, who ran the operation.

The Qatari leader urged the global community to respond to the plight of the Syrian people, including the resulting 6.8 million refugees globally, and joined forces with France earlier this year to provide increased humanitarian aid in war-torn Syria.