12^th February 2016

Release: Reaction to Munich Talks

Following the statement by the International Syria Support Group in Munich, James Sadri, Director of The Syria Campaign said:

“Excluding Russian aerial attacks from a ceasefire is absurd. This year Russia has become the number one killer of civilians in Syria, killing more than the Assad regime, Al Qaeda and Isis combined. If this proposed ceasefire doesn’t stop Russian warplanes from bombing hospitals and schools, then the US and others shouldn’t pretend it’s a ceasefire.”

Referring to agreement on aid delivery, Sadri continued:

“Using starvation as a weapon is a war crime. If this agreement means the end of sieges in Syria it will be welcome. But don’t expect celebration on the ground, because the lives of too many Syrian civilians have been ignored and too many people have been starved to death.”

Notes to editors

• According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Russian forces were responsible for the deaths of 679 civilians in January 2016 as compared with the combined total of 101 by Isis and Nusra SN4hr.org

• To speak to spokespeople from The Syria Campaign or to Syrians inside the country, call Henrietta McMicking in London (henrietta@thesyriacampaign.org +44 7815 523 083) or Bissan Fakih in Beirut ([email protected] +961 71 377 364)

• The Syria Campaign was established in 2013 as an independent advocacy group to focus on the protection of civilians in Syria. To maintain its impartiality, The Syria Campaign accepts no funding from governments or any group involved in the conflict