During the evening of Tuesday 10 April, around 60 Syrian civil society organisations called on Europe and the USA to adopt a "global strategy" to dissuade new attacks and to hold the regime to account.
"Syrian civil society representatives are calling on Europe and the United States to take all necessary steps to protect Syrian civilians and deter future indiscriminate attacks", their joint statement says. The organisations want "all war crimes (to be) met with credible consequences that are part of a sustained, comprehensive strategy designed to deter all indiscriminate attacks".
At a time when Russia has vetoed an American resolution providing for the creation of mechanism to investigate the use of chemical weapons, at the United Nations Security Council, Munir Alfakir, a member of the provincial council of Damascus, said, according to the statement, that "credible, comprehensive action" was needed "– including limited military action to deter future atrocities – to make clear that the horrors we saw in Douma cannot be repeated, and that Assad’s war crimes will not go unpunished".
When asked about the Russian veto and the escalation in tension between Russia and the West, the European External Action Service had not responded to EUROPE's questions by the time of going to press. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)