MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation head, Nasr Hariri, said Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad must step down to make way for a transitional governing body, and be held accountable for the crimes he is accused of having perpetrated against the people of his country.
"Up till now, the brutal crimes of the terrorist regime of Bashir Assad are still ongoing… We affirmed in the beginning of the session the core of the political process that is required for the political transition and the formation of a transitional governing body, this will require Bashar Assad and the oppressive clique of him whose hands have been stained with the blood of the Syrian people to step down their power as an introduction to the transition and to hold them accountable for the crimes they have perpetrated," Hariri said.
He added that "no less than 2,000 including 275 women, and several hundreds of children" have been killed as a result of the aerial campaigns of the Syrian government since the start of the ceasefire.