The Arab Council expressed its full support of the “right of the Syrian people to determine their future.”

This came on the 11th anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution. In March 2011, popular protests erupted in Syria against the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, demanding a peaceful transfer of power, but he repressed them militarily, plunging the country into a devastating war.

The council, headed by former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, said in a statement that the anniversary of the revolution is passing “in light of the continuous collapse of the living, economic and security conditions of the Syrian people.”

“As this anniversary passes, millions of Syrians are scattered between shelters, migrant centres and prisons, in addition to hundreds of thousands of martyrs, missing persons and people with disabilities who have been exposed to the most dangerous and dirtiest war of extermination in the past decades.”

“The Arab Council expresses its full support for the right of the Syrian people to determine their future, get rid of dictatorship, freedom, dignity, and sovereignty,” added Marzouki.

He called on the Syrians to “adhere to the constants of their revolution and its eternal values.”

He also called on the international community “to end the refugee crisis and enable all Syrians to return to their cities and homes without fear of punishment.”

The Arab Council is a non-governmental organisation that brings together several Arab figures with the aim of defending the Arab Spring revolutions, establishing the democratic culture in the region and exchanging experiences and expertise in managing the transitional stages.

The Council was established on 26 July 2014, with Tunis as its main headquarters. It has branches in several other countries.

An estimated 500,000 people have been killed in Syria over the past 11 years, and millions were forced to flee the country. About 80 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Al-Assad remains entrenched in power with Russian and Iranian military support.

At least 100,000 Syrians were forcibly disappeared, mostly at the hands of government forces, but advocacy groups believe the number is likely far higher.