Damascus rejects UN decision to prolong Human Rights probe

The Syrian government has rejected a UN Human Rights Council decision to prolong an enquiry on the crisis in Syria, calling the group’s work “biased and imbalanced.”

“Syria categorically rejects this decision,” state news agency SANA quoted an unnamed official source as saying on Saturday.

The resolution failed to take into account “the unethical role played by states that sponsor terrorism in Syria, which fund, train, arm and send terrorists and mercenaries” into the country, the official said.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution prolonging the commission of enquiry’s work. The resolution said the commission should continue “to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law.”

The resolution reflects “a policy of double standards practiced by some countries that claim to defend human rights,” the official added.

Damascus called the decision “political cover given for crimes committed by armed terrorist groups” and putting the blame on the government.

On March 19, at least 25 people were killed and many others injured after militants fired a rocket containing poisonous gas into Khan al-Assal village near Syria’s northern city of Aleppo.

In December 2012, Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari said in letters to the UN Security Council and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the militants could use chemical weapons against Syrians and try to shift the blame to the government.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.