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West, UNSC worried about terrorists in Aleppo: Academic

Tuesday, 20 December 2016 2:39 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 20 December 2016 6:56 PM ]

In this December 19, 2016 United Nations handout photo, the Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 2328 (2016), requesting the United Nations and other relevant institutions to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations from the eastern districts of Aleppo and other districts of the Syrian city. (AFP photo)

The United Nations Security Council has approved a resolution to deploy UN observers to the northwestern Syrian city of Aleppo. Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Ja’afari described the move as a propaganda tactic and criticized Western media hype. After the liberation of the eastern Aleppo by the Syrian government forces, Russia and Turkey reached a ceasefire agreement, enabling the evacuation of militants trapped in eastern parts of Aleppo and their transfer to the northwestern city of Idlib.

Tim Anderson, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, told Press TV’s Top 5 that the Western states and their media neglect the humanitarian requirements of civilians in Aleppo and instead, they issue a resolution, which shows their concern about the fate of al-Qaeda operatives in Aleppo.

“The resolution at this stage shows that the greatest concern of those Western powers and the Security Council has really been about the last remaining al-Qaeda people there,” Anderson said on Tuesday.

The West did not pay attention to the fact that almost one thousand civilians have been evacuated from eastern Aleppo, he noted, adding, “The storm of misinformation in the Western media has been really extraordinary.”

Comparing humanitarian activities by the West, on the one hand, and Moscow and Tehran, on the other hand, he argued, “Iran and Russia have sent tons of humanitarian aid into Aleppo and the Syrian government carries the main brunt of it,” but “Britain for all its complaining hasn’t sent a grain of rice to Aleppo.”

Elsewhere, he noted, it is interesting that “the US is now absent from the practical negotiations,” because Washington was excluded from talks between Moscow and Ankara over the evacuations of civilians from two villages of Fou’a and Kefraya in Idlib province.

“With Iran joining these talks now, I think, really we have people, who are actually physically involved on the ground and looking for some practical solutions and that’s better than these abstract talks that are taking place at a great distance in Geneva,” he concluded.

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