Muslim States Call for U.N. Force in Syria

The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) has called on the United Nations to establish a peacekeeping force in Syria as refugees pour out of the country due to the ongoing civil war.

The 57-member group squarely placed the blame for the deaths and the refugee crisis on “the war crimes committed by the regime in Syria,” reports Agence France Press. The U.N. should create “a multi-dimensional U.N. peacekeeping operation in Syria as a prelude to restoring security and stability in the country,” the group added.

The fighting in Syria has created more than 4 million refugees and left more than 7 million Syrians internally displaced within the country’s borders.

Many refugees have fled to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, while others have taken perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea in order to seek asylum in Europe. Germany is expected to take in 800,000 Syrians this year alone.

Russia May ‘Sideline’ Assad: Report

Russia may be considering the gradual removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to make way for a unified international front to fight against Islamic State in Syria, according to officials and Syrian rebel groups.

Along with Syrian opposition groups, officials from the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia have been negotiating the potential of “sidelining” Assad since as early as June, reports Bloomberg Business.

Russia has served as one of Assad’s main backers since the uprising broke out in March 2011, while Saudi Arabia has been a foe of his government and supports rebel groups.

Ending Civil War Will Solve Refugee Crisis: U.S. General

U.S. General John Allen has said that ISIS must be defeated and President Assad “has to go” in order to cope with the ongoing refugee crisis rocking Europe as hundreds of thousands of Syrians flood E.U. countries.

Allen, the special presidential envoy for the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS, referred to the refugee crisis as “heart-wrenching,” reports the BBC.

Although ISIS is part of the problem, the general said that people are fleeing from “the horrendous conditions that are a direct result of Bashar al-Assad and several years of the civil war.”

“So it’s not just about dealing with [ISIS], it’s about creating the conditions that can put us on track for a political diplomatic solution as well,” Allen said.

Top photo: Photo: Syrians protest in Zabadani, a Damascus-area city that has been under siege for months, back in 2012 (Associated Press/Fadi Zaidan)

Recommended Reads

• The New York Times: Don’t Trust Putin on Syria
• USA Today: Accept More Syrian Refugees: Our View
• The BBC: Syria Conflict: No End to Interminable War is in Sight
• The Huffington Post: In Zabadani, Signs of a New and Worrying Iranian Strategy in Syria
• The Guardian: Future Generations Will Despise Our ‘Realism’ on Syria