Activists protest against Aleppo bombing at Russian embassy in Kyiv

The protest was held at the Russian embassy in Kyiv against war crimes of Russian forces in Syrian Aleppo.

About a hundred activists gathered near the building on the Povitroflots’kyi Avenue, according to representatives of Human Rights Information Centre, who also participated in the protest.

The protesters appealed to the Russian authorities with demands to stop bombardment, the use of prohibited chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, extrajudicial executions and tortures in Syria. As well as stopping the siege of districts of Aleppo that are outside the control of government and other cities in Syria.

During the event protesters put photographs and posters of Syrian children, that were injured during the bombardment of Aleppo, over the embassy fence.

“Russian Federation and the government forces of Syria must immediately stop the bombardment and support the creation of the corridor, secured by the UN for safe transportation of people from the areas controlled by government forces and those which are not controlled by the government, especially one hundred thousand people from the areas outside the control of government forces in Aleppo”, – quotes the demands of protesters Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the board of Center for Civil Liberties, who partook in organizing the protest.

In addition, 6 demands were made to international organizations and state governments. The main essence of these demands is to provide solidarity and support to the Syrian people as well as to convict the policy of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and the policy of the Russian Federation and introduce additional sanctions against Russia.

“The EU and USA should impose sanctions against Russia for its committed international crimes in Syria, whose victims were thousands of civilians including women and children,” – said Matviychuk.

She appeals to all parties of the armed conflict in Syria to comply with international humanitarian law, in particular to provide protection to civilians and humane treatment of persons who laid down their arms.

As a reminder, on December 13 The UN’s Unit for Human Rights reported that according to its information 82 civilians were killed when Syrian government forces entered the areas of eastern Aleppo that were controlled by Syrian opposition.

According to the UN, 11 women and 13 children were among those who were killed in four districts of the eastern Aleppo.

Local mass media outlets also shared information that civilians were placed in a line and executed. News platform Aleppo24 states that there was at least one case when children were burnt alive.

Assad army has nearly seized Aleppo, which was the center of the armed conflict for over 4 years. But now, about 100,000 people are afraid that they will become the victims of repression by the leader of Syria.

On December 14 Syrian rebels announced an agreement with the Assad regime in order to evacuate civilians from the eastern Aleppo. Evacuation was planned to begin on morning on December 14, but Syrian regime forces continued shelling of rebel controlled areas of eastern Aleppo.

Later that day Russian Federation announced that Syrian government army continued its operation to liberate eastern Aleppo, since Syrian opposition in eastern Aleppo violated the agreement on their withdrawal from the city and resumed battle actions in the morning.