Western nations demand that Assad be held accountable for atrocities

In an effort to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the uprising, the US, the UK, France, and Germany have all called for the Assad administration to be held accountable for crimes against Syrians.

The four nations declared that "unless there is a true and lasting movement towards a political settlement," they will neither normalize relations with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's administration nor provide funding for its rehabilitation.

Syria was engulfed in protests in 2011 as a result of the Arab upheavals in the area.

Since then, some 500,000 Syrians have died.

Over 10,000 individuals lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred in early February, which also caused severe suffering and the displacement of millions of others.

The four nations stated, "We are devoted to assisting Syrian civil society and eliminating the human rights abuses and atrocities the Syrian people have endured – from the Assad regime and others — long before the earthquakes struck.

To hold the Assad regime and all those responsible for abuses, breaches, and crimes accountable, the international community must unite.

The phone contact came the day after Mr. Al Assad visits Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in an effort to reduce tensions between the Syrian leader and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of neighboring Turkey, who has dispatched Turkish troops into northern Syria.

According to the UN, more than 6.7 million of the 23 million people who lived in the nation before the conflict are still internally displaced, many of them are living in camps.