Damascus: ‘Israeli’ Airstrikes on Aleppo Airport Amount To ’War Crime’

By Staff, Agencies

The Syrian government strongly condemned the recent ‘Israeli’ airstrikes on the Aleppo International Airport in the northern part of the Arab country, saying it amounts to a “war crime.”

The missile strike on Tuesday damaged the international airport's runway and rendered it out of service for the second time in less than a week.

“The recurring ‘Israeli’ attacks, especially the systematic and deliberate targeting of civilian objects in Syria – the latest of which was the targeting of Aleppo International Airport yesterday – amounts to an act of aggression and a war crime according to international law,” the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement added that the ‘Israeli’ regime "must be held to account" for the latest aerial aggression in the war-ravaged Arab country.

“The occupying ‘Israeli’ regime is once again threatening peace and security in the region, endangering and intimidating civilians, and jeopardizing the safety of civil aviation in Syria and the region,” the statement noted.

“Syria will exercise its legitimate right to defend its territories and nation through all available means, and to ensure that the ‘Israeli’ authorities will be held to account for their crimes,” it added further.

State-run SANA news agency reported on Tuesday night that ‘Israeli’ jets launched a number of missiles from across the Mediterranean Sea at Aleppo Airport.

The news agency added that the Syrian air defenses managed to intercept several ‘Israeli’ missiles. There were no immediate reports of injuries in the latest attack.

Syria’s Transportation Ministry later announced that all flights were being redirected to the Damascus airport, as the Aleppo airport was “out of service” following the airstrikes.

Last Wednesday night, ‘Israeli’ airstrikes targeted Aleppo airport’s runway and radio navigation system.

Another airstrike that night struck a similar navigation system at Damascus International Airport near the Syrian capital.

Syria has been in the grip of foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the ‘Israeli’ occupation regime and its Western and regional allies aid Takfiri terrorist groups that continue to wreak havoc in the country.

The Tel Aviv regime frequently targets Syria but rarely comments on its cowardly attacks on Syrian territories, which many see as a knee-jerk reaction to the Syrian government’s success in confronting and decimating terrorism.

‘Israel’ has been one of the main supporters of terrorist groups that oppose the democratically-elected government of President Bashar al-Assad since the foreign-backed militancy erupted in Syria.