Syria rebels meet UN Security Council to end Assad support
UN says more than 100,000 killed in Syrian conflict
Syrian rebel leaders met with the UN Security Council for the first time on Friday to discuss the country’s two-year war and appealed to Russia to stop its powerful political and military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
The 15-member Security Council has been deadlocked on Syria. Russia, an ally and arms supplier of Assad, and China have three times blocked action against Assad supported by the remaining veto powers - the United States, Britain and France.
“We asked them [Russia] to stop providing the political and military support for this criminal regime to continue its crimes against the Syrian people,” senior Syrian National Coalition member Najib Ghadbian told reporters after the meeting.
The Syrian National Coalition delegation to the informal meeting, organised by Britain, was led by newly elected leader Ahmed al-Jarba. On Thursday the group met with US Secretary of State John Kerry and called for the United States to arm the rebels quickly and to push harder for a political settlement.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed since Syria’s civil war erupted, pitting Assad’s forces against rebels seeking to end his family’s four-decade rule.