Washington DC - The Coalition for a Democratic Syria (CDS), a group of Syrian-American organizations working for a free and democratic Syria and including the Syrian American Council, Syrian Christians for Peace, the American Syriac Union, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, United for a Free Syria, and the Association of Free Syrians, mourns the victims of Friday's attacks in Paris. ISIS has taken credit for the coordinated attacks that killed an estimated 127 people. France has long been among the closest allies of the Syrian opposition, and the most vocal European country calling for a no-fly zone to protect civilians in Syria.
"France was the first western country to formally recognize the Opposition government and has been the strongest critic against the Assad government's brutality against the Syrian people," said CDS Chairman Yahya Basha. "ISIS and its supporters are threatened and afraid of France's commitment to Syria's struggle for democracy. Our prayers are with the people of France."
In the wake of this tragedy, and under threat of future attacks, CDS calls for a more robust anti-ISIS strategy from the international community. "The only hope to destroy ISIS is to stabilize Syria and support efforts to transition from the Assad dictatorship, which has long used ISIS as a tool to manipulate the international community," said CDS Government Relations Chair Muna Jondy. "We should strike ISIS targets, support the moderate Syrian opposition groups who are fighting ISIS, and facilitate a political, humanitarian, and ideological environment that will cause their support to dry up."
The Paris attack comes two days after an ISIS bombing in Beirut that killed 43 civilians. ISIS has killed thousands of people in Syria, and the Assad government has killed tens of thousands. The international community meets in Vienna today to discuss a resolution to the Syrian conflict.