The incident with schoolchildren in Idlib, Syria, is another clear demonstration of the arbitrariness of Idlib militants who terrorize local residents; Moscow calls on all interested parties to ensure the safe exit of schoolchildren with their parents from the de-escalation zone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On June 17, militants of the Hayat Tahrir Al-sham* group, recognized as a terrorist by the UN Security Council, blocked a convoy of 17 minibuses with schoolchildren who were supposed to arrive in the city of Hama. Idlib schoolchildren were sent to the territories controlled by the government of the SAR in order to pass exams and obtain documents of the established pattern of graduation from educational institutions.
"This incident is another clear demonstration of the arbitrariness of Idlib militants who terrorize civilians, commit crimes and illegal actions. Creating obstacles to the free movement of civilians in armed conflict is a gross violation of international humanitarian law," the Ministry said in a statement.
The Ministry pointed out that Idlib schoolchildren were denied not only freedom of movement, which is enshrined in article 13 of the universal Declaration of human rights, but also the right to education, which is spelled out in article 26 of this document.
"We are convinced that the international community and UN representatives should not watch in silence the arbitrary and criminal actions of militants. Idlib children, who were so often remembered in the UN Security Council during the operation to fight terrorists, are now forgotten. We call on all interested parties to take measures to ensure the safe exit of schoolchildren and their parents from the de-escalation zone in Idlib, and to protect them from the arbitrariness of terrorists," the Russian foreign Ministry stressed.
Earlier, the government of Syria and the heads of local administrations in the Idlib de-escalation zone agreed that secondary school students will be given the opportunity to obtain school graduation documents and pass exams for admission to Syrian universities. With the assistance of the Russian center for reconciliation, more than a thousand school children have already arrived through two checkpoints - Aleppo and Trumba - from territories not controlled by the Syrian government.
* Terrorist organization banned in Russia
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Felipe Dana / AP / TASS