Washington D.C., May 22, 2017 / 09:35 am
The United States House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that issues additional sanctions against supporters of Syria's Assad regime, and those providing arms for the regime.
"This bill is a big step in the right direction," Phillippe Nassif, executive director of the group In Defense of Christians, told CNA.
The House passed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act May 17, issuing additional sanctions on the Assad regime and its "backers," especially human rights violators and those involved in the trade of weapons or weapons parts with the regime. Those supporters could include Russia and Iran, international allies of Assad.
The Syrian civil war is now in its sixth year, and over 400,000 have died, with over 11 million displaced from their homes, including 5 million registered refugees. Civilian witnesses have given testimonies to the carnage – hospitals bombed, chorine gas bombs unleashed, and starvation are only some of the atrocities that have been inflicted.