Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian sent a letter on the aggravation of situation in northwestern Syria to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry’s press service reports that the letter particularly read the following:

“Armenia is deeply concerned about the developments in northwestern Syria especially aggravation of situation in ancient town of Kessab populated with Armenians and adjacent 12 villages. All the available evidence and geopolitical location of Kessab allow us to conclude that the recent attacks undoubtedly were realized by terrorist groups related to Al-Qaeda which crossed the border from Turkey’s side. The violence mostly carried out against civilians resulted in eviction of the local people. The radical groups defaced Armenian churches in Kessab, inflicted considerable damage to the people’s property thus creating a grave image of rough human rights violations. Only a few elderly people who were able to leave stayed in the town. These awful attacks greatly jeopardize enforcement of 2139 and 2118 resolutions unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council which are aimed at settling Syria crisis.

On various occasions, Armenia has voiced the need for immediate protection of ethnic and religious minorities including Armenians who live in conditions of armed conflict in Syria and who found themselves in extremely vulnerable situation as front targets. As the humanitarian crisis still continues, it’s very important to demand from the Turkish authorities to take immediate action to prevent further use of its territory by radical groups.

Use of force against civilians irrespective of their ethnic and religious identity should be definitely condemned. International community should take decisive efforts to ensure safety and security of the evicted people including Armenians, create conditions to return them to their hometowns as soon as possible, in a secure and decent manner and provide necessary humanitarian aid to address their urgent needs”.