Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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15. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the recent air raid that killed 26 people across Syria on 24 February 2014, on rebel-held towns two days after the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an end to the shelling and aerial attacks; the representations he has made to the EU and the UN in relation to Syria since the UN Security Council resolution was passed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10803/14]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am aware of the reports of attacks on 24 February 2014 on the towns of al-Neshabieh, close to Damascus, in which 2 women and 10 children were killed, al-Hosn, in Homs province, where 6 people died, the town of Talbiseh in which 4 children died, and further reprehensible use of barrel bombs against the civilian population of Aleppo which resulted in the deaths of four children.

All these attacks were clearly undertaken by the Syrian state forces, and involved the use of air force and artillery units.

These attacks were in outright violation of UN Security Council resolution 2139, which expressly demands that all such attacks against civilian populations should cease. I have repeatedly condemned attacks by both sides against civilians, and I reiterate Ireland’s demand that the Security Council refer these criminal acts to the International Criminal Court.

Compliance with Resolution 2139 will obviously be one of the major topics for discussion at the Foreign Affairs Council on 17 March. I warmly welcomed the adoption of Resolution 2139 in a statement I issued on 24 February, having urged such decisive action on the Council’s part for some time now, and emphasised that it is now critical that the terms of this binding resolution are fully implemented by all sides, and especially the Syrian authorities.