Armenian Union Party condemns Syrian government for shelling Aleppo

In a statement, the Armenian Union Party denounced and strongly condemned the shelling carried out by factions of Syria’s transitional government against the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.

The statement said: “The Armenian Union Party condemns in the strongest terms the shelling that targeted the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo by the so-called transitional government, which clearly aims to ignite strife among Syria’s components and sow the seeds of division and hatred.”

The statement affirmed that these practices come within a context of non-compliance with the March 10 agreement and repeated attempts to marginalize the role of authentic national components that have historically formed the fabric of Syrian society, foremost among them the Armenian component, which has been and remains an integral part of the country’s inclusive national identity.

The party further stated: “We affirm our absolute rejection of any attack that targets civilians or seeks to undermine civil peace. We consider that these policies serve nothing but projects of division and destabilization. We call for an immediate halt to these violations and for respect for the agreements signed among national forces.”

The Armenian Union Party called on the transitional government to “commit to humanitarian values and coexistence among all the countries’ components, to work seriously toward building a democratic, decentralized Syria that guarantees equal rights for all components and religions, and to strengthen the role of all national forces in shaping the country’s future away from exclusion and marginalization.”

The party stressed that the unity of the Syrian people in all their components is the sole guarantee for confronting challenges, and that any attempt to ignite strife will fail in the face of the will for coexistence and adherence to humanitarian principles.