Head of the Armenian Mission to the OSCE, Ambassador Arman Kirakosyan has expressed concern over the recent attacks of the Al-Nusra Front against the civilian population of Aleppo, which has left many killed.
Addressing the 1105th sitting of the OSCE Permanent Council, Ambassador Kirakosyan strongly condemned the planned and consistent shelling of the Christian-populated neighborhoods of Aleppo, which has led to dozens of casualties among the peaceful population and caused a serious damage to “Zvartnots” Armenian Catholic Church, the Armenian nursing home and other historical-cultural and scientific-educational buildings.
The Ambassador noted that “the Armenian mission has been consistently raising the issue of foreign militants in Syria and Iraq, the functioning of the Islamic State, Al Nusra Front and Al-Qaeda affilieated groups. He said that the religious minorities, including the Armenian community, are the primary target of those groups.
Ambassador Kirakosyan noted that the activity of the above-mentioned terrorist groups poses a serious threat to the security of the OSCE region. “Violent radicalism, extremism and terrorism target the ethnic and religious minorities, threaten their existence in the Middle East and further aggravate the migration crisis over the OSCE area. The Armenian community of Aleppo was established by Armenian genocide survivors, and 101 years later that community is struggling for its survival under the conditions of transboundary support for the terrorist groups,” he added.
Arman Kirakosyan called on the OSCE participating states to meet their commitments of fighting terrorism and urged Turkey to refrain from providing its territory for cross-border attacks against the civilian population, including the ethnic and religious minorities in Syria.
