OIC opposes military intervention in Syria

The Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is strongly opposed to military intervention in Syria, OIC secretary general, professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"Military intervention in Syria will lead to more casualties among civilians. It will become a step which will destabilise the whole region. We are against such a turn of events," Ihsanoglu said.

The OIC secretary general noted that there is still hope in the Syrian crisis for political settlement. That's why the parties to the conflict should move to the actual implementation of the plan of the UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria Kofi Annan.

Syria has been covered by anti-government protests for more than year resulting in violent clashes. According to UN figures, the total number of victims in the country exceeds 10,000. In turn, the Syrian authorities say the number of those killed in clashes is over 2000 soldiers and police officers against whom there are well-armed militants.

Since April, a truce has been declared in the country in accordance with the plan of the UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan. UN observers were deployed in the country to monitor the truce. However, parties to the conflict regularly report new armed incidents and victims.

Touching upon the issue of implementation of a project on deployment of peacekeeping contingent in conflict zones in Muslim countries, Ihsanoglu said the OIC is interested in implementation of this project.

"Projects on the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent in conflict zones in Muslim counties are under consideration, something the OIC supports," he said.

The secretary general said that this thought was voiced in May 2006 at a meeting of OIC FMs in Baku, and since 2008 a number of steps taken in this direction. The OIC continues work on implementation of the project and calls on all the Muslim states to support this idea, Ihsanoglu noted.


/Trend/