Iran UN Envoy: Persistence of Terrorist Control over Idlib Endangers Civilian Lives

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-e Ravanchi has warned that continued terrorist presence in the territory is endangering civilian lives, Press TV reported.

 “Should the government allow these internationally designated terrorist groups continue their control over its territory? Should the international community allow such terrorist groups to take a large number of civilians as their hostage?” he said during a United Nations Security Council meeting held on Friday over a recent surge in fighting in northwestern Syria.

The meeting was held amid a recent escalation in clashes in the province after the Syrian Arab Army launched an operation to counter numerous flagrant terrorist violations of an earlier de-escalation agreement.

Under the agreement, which was signed between Russia and Turkey last year, Takfiri groups in Idlib had to withdraw from areas bordering Syrian government-controlled territory, which they refused to do, according to Press TV.

 Speaking on Friday, Takht-e Ravanchi said that Iran continued to support the Idlib de-escalation agreement, saying that the deal was necessary to protect civilian lives but warned that it should not become a pretext to create a safe haven for terrorists.

The Iranian envoy described the current situation in Idlib saying that the terrorist groups are using “over two million civilians as human shields”.

“This is in contradiction with the objective of the Idlib de-escalation area’s creation. We should be vigilant enough not to confuse the protection of civilians with the protection of terrorists,” he added.

Takht-e Ravanchi concluded that any solution for the Syrian crisis had to be reached through a “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process”, as agreed in a joint statement issued by Iran, Russia, and Turkey in April.

H.M