UN Aleppo Probe 'Won't Be Impartial', Reveal Push for New Anti-Russian Sanctions

The UN probe into alleged war crimes in Aleppo, Syria is all about politics and is unlikely to be unbiased, British political commentator Mo Ansar told Sputnik.

In an interview with Sputnik, British political commentator Mo Ansar described the UN investigation into alleged war crimes in Aleppo as a politically motivated process, which he said is unlikely to be impartial.

The interview came after the UN Human Rights Council voted in favor of an independent inquiry into possible war crimes in the ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo.

The corresponding resolution, introduced by the UK, was adopted on Friday by the majority of the council's members.

"I think that first and foremost this UN probe is certainly about politics and is not going to be impartial," Mo Ansar said.

When asked about the possibility of slapping more economic sanctions on Russia over the developments in Syria, he said that only few countries are interested in doing so.

Maarouf, a 12-year-old Syrian boy waits to be rescued from the rubble of a building following a reported air strike on the the rebel-held Qaterji neighbourhood of the northern city of Aleppo on October 16, 2016

© AFP 2023 / THAER MOHAMMED

 

"I don't think that people are talking about sanctions against Russia because the issue is only discussed by Britain, Germany and France. Everybody else insists on the cessation of hostilities; the re-implementing of the Kerry-Lavrov peace agreement on Syria," he said.

According to him, the focus should be placed on getting the terrorist groups to leave Aleppo and providing the city with humanitarian aid. 

"The priority is a sustainable peace [in Aleppo]. To that end, I think that we should listen to the international community and look for locally proposed solutions to bring about peace," he pointed out.

Commenting on the issue, Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, currently the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stressed the necessity to identify and bring to justice those accountable for civilian deaths in Aleppo, indicating that he believes Russia and Syria are allegedly responsible.

Although he did not specifically name Moscow and Damascus, Prince Zeid said that indiscriminate airstrikes by government forces and their allies were responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian casualties in Aleppo.

Earlier, Moscow repeatedly denied similar allegations, calling them groundless and adding that Russia's airstrikes in Syria target only terrorist positions.

Fighting has been ongoing in Aleppo during most of the five-year Syrian conflict. The Russian and Syrian governments agreed to stop airstrikes on Islamist fighters controlling parts of the city starting Thursday.

On Saturday, Russia indicated that it might further extend the humanitarian pause, which has already been prolonged for October 22, from 08:00 to 16:00 local time, depending on the developments on the ground.