Immediate ceasefire in Syria urged

Speaker of the pan-Arab Parliament, Ahmed Al Jarwan, has urged all parliaments of the world to push for an immediate halt of airstrikes unleashed by the Assad regime and its supporters against Syrian civilians and enforce international conventions on protection and assisting refugees.
Intensified airstrikes by the Assad regime forces and allies around Syria's northern governorate of Aleppo are forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee to Turkish border to seek refuge, according to UAE News Agency (WAM).

In letters to the parliaments of members of the U.N. Security Council, the European Parliament, the Pan African Parliament and the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, he said while the Arab Parliament strongly supports the current peace talks on Syria a peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, it demands the enforcement of immediate ceasefire and halt to all airstrikes being conducted by the regime of Bashar Assad and its allies. 

"This is the least that can be done at present as a prelude to a serious and firm international action to end the suffering of Syrians and help achieve their aspiration for security, peace and freedom," the head of the pan-Arab Parliament said. 

He said the pan-Arab body was ready to work hand­-in-­hand with the world's parliaments to achieve peace and security in Syria.

In Geneva on Wednesday, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura postponed attempts to begin a dialogue between the Assad regime and the Syrian opposition until February 25.

Since the crisis broke out in March 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians were killed and millions displaced by the regime forces. On 17 August last year, the United Nations estimated that 250,000 had been killed in Syria, WAM reported.
Source: BNA