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Middle East conflict

Without acting in Middle East, world expects repeat of Rwanda events – Libyan diplomat

Taher el-Sonny believes that if the UN Security Council had adopted the Russian draft resolution, “they might have saved the lives of children, innocent civilians who died in the attack on the hospital”

UNITED NATIONS, October 18. /TASS/. When not taking action to hold accountable those responsible for the developments in the Gaza Strip, the international community is waiting for a repeat of the Rwanda developments in the 1990s, Libya’s Permanent Representative to the UN Taher El-Sonni said at the UN Security Council meeting convened after the missile strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.

"This is a new chapter in the string of crimes committed against Gazans. The question is whether there will be collective punishment for crimes against humanity. It seems that you are waiting for another Rwanda <...>. Had we taken serious steps in the Security Council and adopted the Russia-drafted resolution <...>, we might have saved the lives of children, innocent civilians who were killed in the strike on the hospital yesterday," the diplomat said.

On October 18, the UN Security Council failed to adopt the Brazil-drafted Middle East resolution, as the United States vetoed it. On October 17, the UN Security Council did not adopt the Russia-drafted resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict either.

Last night, the Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip was hit in a strike. According to the Palestinian reports, 471 people were killed and 342 more wounded in the attack on the Al-Ahli Hospital. Palestine put the blame on the Israeli military. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied responsibility, saying in a statement that the powerful explosion in the hospital had resulted from a misfired rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad group. Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon all declared a period of mourning.

The Rwandan genocide erupted in April 1994 when a provisional government, which largely consisted of radicalized representatives of the Hutu ethnic group, came to power. The Tutsi ethnic minority, as well as moderate Hutu, were targeted by the genocide. Within a few months of clashes between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes, about 800,000 people were killed, according to the United Nations.

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Middle East conflict

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