[ACNS] The World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed grave concern over the dramatic escalation of the conflict in Syria and called for an end to foreign military interventions in the war-torn country.

The conflict began in 2011 against a backdrop of popular uprisings in a number of Arab states. Protests against the government of President Bashar al-Assad were met with violent crackdowns leading eventually to the ongoing multi-party armed conflict.

Taking on government forces is the Free Syrian Army and the Islamic Front; while Hezbollah joined the conflict in 2013 in support of government forces. The so-called Islamic State (IS, ISIL or Da’esh) is taking on both of the other factions as they seek to build a caliphate across Syria, Iraq and the Levant.

In September 2014 the United States and its European and Arabic allies began a series of airstrikes against IS targets in an escalation of the support it had already given to the Free Syrian Army.

Last month military forces from the Russian Federation, which supports the government of Assad, joined the conflict. Originally, Russian officials said that they were targeting IS positions; but after criticism from America that they were targeting Syrian opposition positions, the Russian government said that it would target all those it considered to be terrorists.

Now, the general secretary of the WCC, the Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, says that the council is “gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of the military operations in the conflict in Syria and strictly condemns them.”

In addition to strong condemnation of all foreign military operations in the country, Tveit says that “the WCC, together with its member churches and ecumenical partners, has expressed on several occasions its deep conviction that ‘there will be no military solution’ to the conflict in Syria.

“We call upon all governments to put an immediate end to all military actions and to support and engage with a political process for peace in Syria through which a narrative for all Syrians can be generated,” he said.

In a statement, he added, “We also reiterate our urgent call to the UN Security Council and the international community to implement measures to end the flow of weapons and foreign fighters into Syria.

“Only a political solution in Syria, leading to the establishment of a transitional national government, recognized by the people of Syria and the international community, can adequately address the existential threat posed by ISIS and other extremist groups and offer hope for the preservation of the diverse social fabric of Syria and the region.

“The Syrian people deserve another alternative to what they face today, and a just peace now. We hope and pray that the suffering of the Syrian people will come to an end soon.”

• Click here to read the full statement