For Immediate Release
July 21, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Muslim and Syrian American leaders will hold a press conference in front of the White House at 10 AM on Friday, July 22, to call for immediate action in Aleppo. This press conference comes one day after the hand delivery of a letter to President Obama urging the U.S. government to act to protect the people of Aleppo.
The humanitarian crisis in Syria is at a critical moment. Eastern Aleppo City is besieged and civilians and civilian areas continue to be targeted through daily aerial attacks. This week alone, four hospitals were bombed, three of which were forced to close due to structural damage. Castello Road, the main humanitarian access route into eastern Aleppo City, is completely blocked, besieging 320,000 civilians. The people of the city are trapped and have been bombed for nearly 90 consecutive days.
Inaction in Aleppo will seriously undermine the United States national security. The horrific images and videos of atrocities and the bodies of innocent children, men, and women that come out of Syria are used to fuel recruitment efforts for extremist groups like ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra. Muslim American and Syrian American leaders call on the U.S. government to act with urgency to stop the catastrophe unfolding in Aleppo, which leads to countless civilian deaths and jeopardizes U.S. national security in the long-term.
The group will call on the U.S. government to put pressure on the Syrian government, Russia, and all parties to immediately halt attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure by any means necessary.
WHAT: Press conference highlighting the crisis in Aleppo and urging the U.S. government to act.
WHEN: 10:00am on Friday, July 22
WHERE: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
WHO: Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Inner-city Muslim Action Network, US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), Syrian American Council (SAC), American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS), Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
Leaders from the organizations convening the press conference will speak about the crisis in Aleppo:
- Salam Al-Marayati, Muslim Public Affairs Council
- Altaf Husain, Islamic Society of North America
- Rami Nashashibi, Inner-city Muslim Action Network
- Oussama Jammal, US Council of Muslim Organizations
- Nihad Awad, Council on American-Islamic Relations
- Suzanne Meriden, Syrian American Council
- Dr. Zaher Sahloul, American Relief Coalition for Syria
- Dr. Ahmad Tarakji, Syrian American Medical Society
Contacts:
Matthew Chrastek, American Relief Coalition for Syria (ARCS), matthew@arcsyria.org
Suzanne Meriden, Syrian American Council (SAC), 714-595-8974
