Beijing has urged the U.S. to lift its sanctions on quake-stricken Syria.
“American sanctions targeting Syria have disrupted relief efforts following catastrophic earthquakes that killed more than 15,000 people in the region earlier this week, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said. Beijing urged the U.S. to lift the penalties against Syria and ‘unlock the doors for humanitarian aid’.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked to comment on the sanctions during her daily press briefing, noting Washington’s history of intervention in Syria and the grave consequences for average citizens.
‘The devastating earthquakes – on top of years of war and turmoil – have left Syria in a terrible humanitarian crisis’, she said, adding that ‘frequent [U.S.] military strikes and harsh economic sanctions have caused huge civilian casualties and taken away the means to subsistence of the Syrians’.
Humanitarian groups, such as the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the U.S.-based Arab American-Anti-Discrimination Committee, have implored U.S. officials to drop the sanctions following Monday’s quakes, which rocked Syria and Turkey and killed thousands in both countries. More than 8,500 lost their lives in Turkey, with some 50,000 wounded, while at least 1,260 died in Syria in addition to 2,300 injured.
Many residents are now trapped under collapsed buildings, creating an urgent need for timely relief, though humanitarian organizations say U.S. sanctions have only made the job more difficult.
‘The evacuation process and rescue operations are restricted due to obstacles resulting from the severe sanctions. We have shortages in heavy machines and equipment is needed to lift the rubble’, said SARC president Khaled Hboubati, adding that U.S. sanctions are creating the greatest obstructions for relief efforts.
Washington has outright refused to consider halting the economic penalties, with the State Department insisting such a move would be ‘counterproductive’ while claiming the Syrian government has ‘brutalized’ its own citizens during its decade-long struggle against armed jihadist groups seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Mao went on to condemn ongoing U.S. military operations in Syria, stating that American forces are stealing the country’s energy resources at a staggering rate.
‘As we speak, the U.S. troops continue to occupy Syria’s principal oil-producing regions. They have plundered more than 80% of Syria’s oil production and smuggled and burned Syria’s grain stock. All this has made Syria’s humanitarian crisis even worse’, she continued.
Though Damascus has repeatedly denounced the U.S. military presence and demanded an end to what it regards as an illegal occupation of its sovereign territory, Washington has refused to budge. Just shy of 1,000 U.S. soldiers continue to operate in Kurdish-controlled areas in Syria’s oil-rich northeast, as well as its southern border area, where they are embedded with Arab rebel factions”. -RT
The enforcement of economic sanctions on Syria and the subsequent blockage of disaster relief is tantamount to a crime against humanity.
The Chinese government could counteract the United States government’s ability to put pressure on foreign countries and the member states of the BRICS alliance could even go as far as to include sanctions against other nations as well which may convince the rest of the world that they would be better off ignoring U.S.-imposed sanctions rather than complying with them.
China’s People’s Liberation Army has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military with a hi-tech arsenal of weapons. And, while its technology and operational proficiency still lag behind those of the United States, the combat inexperienced Chinese are rapidly narrowing that gap.