Syrian regime involved in ethnic cleansing

Syria's opposition on Sunday slammed forces of Bashar Al-Assad's regime for "committing ethnic" cleansing operations in the regions of Banias and Al-Baidah. The regime forces are committing genocides against civilians in Banias and Al-Baidah with intention of forcing natives to flee their homes, said Syrian National Coalition in a statement. It called on the United Nations Security Council to hold an urgent session to condemn "the regime massacres and define them as mass-scale genocides and refer the crimes of Al-Assad regime to the International Criminal Court in the Hague." "Operations of indiscriminate killing in villages in the Syrian coastal regions are gradually developing into racial cleansing operations reminiscent to those that had been carried out by Serb forces in Bosnia two decades ago," it said noting that regime personnel using loud-speakers called on residents to leave their homes. Many residents of these regions, having witnessed "slaughter of children, elderly and women on sectarian basis," are fleeing, the opposition group said. These crimes are tantamount to genocides with intention to force natives flee, it said, alluding to texts of relevant international covenants.