The ICJ can slow down Assad’s normalisation drive
Al JazeeraJul 02, 2023
According to a report by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) published on Tuesday, senior Syrian officials created and led paramilitary groups known as "shabbiha" — Arabic for "ghosts" — which have targeted government opponents since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011.
In a seven-document dossier, Commission investigators claim to provide evidence of how Damascus "planned, organised [sic], instigated and deployed" the shabbiha militias at the highest levels to support the state's campaign against opposition forces in the early years of the conflict.
As the Arab world once again rolls out the red carpet for Assad at the Arab League, this report is a crucial reminder of the Syrian regime's cruel nature. Assad may have won Syria's civil war, but he has the blood of more than 300K people on his hands. The fact that Canada and the Netherlands have initiated proceedings against Syria at the International Court of Justice gives hope that the international community will eventually hold Assad accountable for his crimes against humanity.
While Assad continues to be targeted by the international community, hardly anyone is talking about the ongoing and illegal occupation of Syrian territory by US troops to plunder the country's resources. Moreover, Washington is not only training anti-government armed forces but is also widely believed to be backing Islamists in its war against Assad. The fact that Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League proves that the region now wants to take its fate into its own hands — despite what the West desires.