Jeddah — The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest inter-governmental organization after the UN with 57 member states, held here on Sunday an emergency meeting of its executive committee on the deteriorating situation in Syria›s Aleppo. Iyad Madani, OIC Secretary General, said that upon the special request of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait and the chair of the current session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), the OIC executive committee held its meeting on the deteriorating situation in Aleppo and to follow up on the latest developments in Syrian. He said Syrian regime and its allies are pursuing their all-out war against unarmed civilians in a blatant violation of international covenants and legitimacy which prohibit the targeting of civilians and condemn the use of force and the policy of systematic killing of citizens by ruling regimes. He said that the international community, especially the UN Security Council, must assume its responsibilities and take all urgent measures to stop the genocide suffered by the Syrian people especially in Aleppo. Meeting reaffirmed the commitment of the OIC member states to the sovereignty, independence, political unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. The meeting condemned the escalation of military operations and aerial bombing through systematic and arbitrary use of barrel bombs and incendiary devices and heavy bunker-buster bombs in residential areas, ground operations across Syria and the reported use of chemical weapons. OIC Secretary General should continue contacts with all international and regional parties concerned with the Syrian dossier and and to inform the UN Secretary General the President of the Security Council, the President of the General Assembly and members of the Security Council of the outcome of this meeting, said an OIC statement. Asif Hassan Memon, permanent representative of Pakistan in OIC, asked for negotiations to stop horrific crimes, killings of children, women and to Syrian civilians in general as well as humanitarian workers and impose an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at least for sufficient time.
