Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Russia and China veto resolution on Syria sanctions

Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a Western-backed UN resolution that would have imposed sanctions on Syria over chemical weapons, AFPreported.

It was the seventh time that Russia, Syria's close ally, has used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block resolutions that single out the Damascus regime.

China has backed Moscow by using its veto six times on Syria.

The resolution, had it passes, would have blacklisted 11 Syrian military commanders and officials and would have also banned the sale or supply of helicopters to the Syrian government.
The resolution was brought up after Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a recently released major report that Syrian government forces had carried out at least eight chemical attacks in late 2016 as they were fighting to capture second city Aleppo.

The report followed the discovery by a joint inquiry of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that Syrian government forces were responsible for three chlorine gas attacks and that Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists had used mustard gas. READ MORE