Qatar PM describes Syrian war as ‘genocide’

The ongoing civil was in Syria has been denounced and described as a “war of extermination” by the Prime Minister of Qatar Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani.

The Qatari PM also said that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on the pro-democracy opposition had amounted to genocide in Syria

More than 35,000 people have been killed since March 2011 when the uprising against Assad’s regime began according to figures released by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR).

Al-Thani told Al-Jazeera this current conflict could not be described as a civil war but a war of extermination against the Syrian people.

Proposals for the deployment of an Arab peacekeeping force in Syria by Qatar was not accepted by the Arab League and the UN’s peace envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said the situation was worsening despite efforts.

Brahmi said the Syrian regime was unwilling to accept that the country was in the midst of a civil war.

The Qatar PM said Assad’s forces had been given a “license to kill” not only by the Syrian government itself, but also by the international community’s attitude towards the crisis.

Malta today