United Nations, United States, March 2, 2021 Agence France Presse: Syria has been demanded to make the status of detainees public and return any bodies of the dead to their families in an address by the US ambassador to the UN’s General Assembly.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said “at least 14,000 Syrians have been reportedly tortured and tens of thousands forcibly disappeared,” during the General Assembly debate on human rights
“We demand that the status of all those detained be made public and we demand that the bodies of the deceased be returned to their loved ones with the time, place and cause of death,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
The 193-member body heard testimony from several survivors who demanded that the international community hold Syrian perpetrators of abuse responsible.
Russia, Syria’s main ally, has repeatedly used its veto power to protect Damascus from any such measures, however.
Syrian President Bashar Assad “continues to imprison tens of thousands of innocent Syrians, women, children, the elderly, doctors, aid providers, journalists, human rights defenders,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“These innocent civilians are denied fair trials, are subject to torture, sexual violence and inhuman conditions,” she added.
She also denounced the closure of humanitarian aid entry points along the Syrian border in 2020, which occurred after agreement with Damascus could not be reached.
Only one entry point, along the border with Turkey, remains open but Russia has hinted that it intends to close it in July when its UN authorization expires.
The closures “prevented vital humanitarian aid by the United Nations,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “And it is simply deplorable and it has unnecessarily deepened the suffering of millions of Syrians.”
“It is time for us to reach a real political solution,” she added. “This is the only way to bring sustainable peace, stability and security to the Syrian people.”
Syria’s war has killed more than 387,000 people, ravaged key infrastructure and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the repression on anti-government protests.
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“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
US ambassador to UN demands information on Syria detainees
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US ambassador to UN demands information on Syria detainees
- 14,000 Syrians reportedly tortured and thousands forcibly disappeared, US ambassador to UN tells General Assembly
US says it seized another tanker that tried to break Venezuela blockade
- The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship”
- “The ghost fleets will not outrun justice,” Noem wrote on X
WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it seized another tanker that tried to break an American naval blockade aimed at preventing sanctioned vessels from going to or departing Venezuela, the fifth ship apprehended in recent weeks.
Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and carrying out a stunning operation to seize Venezuela’s leftist leader.
The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” that “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces.”
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
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