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You are here: Home / Archives for Bashar al-Assad

Syria government willing to accept cessation deal

February 23, 2016 by Nasheman

Damascus accepts terms of US-Russia agreement, as opposition raises concerns about armed groups not included in deal.

bashar-al-assad

by Al Jazeera

Syria’s government has said it will accept a halt to “combat operations”, after the US and Russia agreed on a plan for the cessation of hostilities to begin this weekend.

Several parties to the conflict, however, were sceptical that any peace deal would actually take effect.

In a statement on Tuesday, President Bashar al-Assad’s government said it would coordinate with Russia to decide what other groups – along with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and al-Nusra Front – should be excluded from the plan.

The government stressed the importance of sealing its borders, halting foreign support to armed groups and “preventing these organisations from strengthening their capabilities or changing their positions, in order to avoid what may lead to wrecking this agreement”.

The announcement from Damascus came after the US and Russia said on Monday that the International Syria Support Group had agreed to terms for a cessation of hostilities in Syria.

The agreement called on all sides to sign up to the agreement by midday on Friday, February 26 and to stop fighting by midnight.

Hours after the agreement was announced, the Syrian Opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) – the major opposition bloc involved in negotiations – said it would accept the terms of the deal.

It added, however, that it does not believe Assad’s regime and its allies would do the same.

“Our main concern in the opposition is that both Russia and the regime are not serious about their commitments to the cessation of hostilities,” said HNC spokesman Riyad Naasan Agha.

“Excluding ISIL and Nusra can be a ploy by the regime and their allies to keep slaughtering our civilians and trying to finish off the real Syrian opposition.”

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, reporting from New York, said some critics believed the timing of the deal would allow different sides in the conflict to push for more territory in the lead-up to the truce on Friday.

“Given everything that is happening in Syria, there is not a great deal of optimism about the proposed cessation of hostilities, particularly as many observers fear there will be an increase in the violence – with the warring sides trying to make gains in the days before it is due to start,” he said.

Underscoring those concerns, Russian air strikes continued to pound rebel-held areas of Aleppo city on Monday night, as the government’s offensive continued in the province.

Elsewhere, fighting took place on Tuesday between Syrian rebels and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units in rural areas in the north and west of the province.

Syria’s civil war started five years ago when initially peaceful protests against Assad’s rule gave way to a war that has killed at least 250,000 people and forced millions from the country.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Syrian opposition: No ceasefire unless Assad goes

December 16, 2015 by Nasheman

Syrian opposition says they will not agree to any peace process that includes President Bashar al-Assad.

More than 250,000 people have died since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 [Mohammed Badra/Reuters]

More than 250,000 people have died since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 [Mohammed Badra/Reuters]

by Diana Al Rifai, Al Jazeera

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said the opposition would not agree to a ceasefire unless Bashar al-Assad signs an agreement to step down as president of Syria.

The comments came on Wednesday as the United States and Russia prepared for the next Syrian peace talks in New York on Friday.

“If they [US and Russia] want to fight terrorism as they say, why not get rid of the main problem, the government that is targeting civilians in Syria everyday?” SNC Vice President Naghm al-Ghadri told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

“The US and Russia have always disagreed on the fate of Bashar al-Assad, but agreed on countering [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], which is ironic because instead of getting rid of the root of all problems, they want to tackle an off-shoot that resulted because of the government itself.

“It is our basic right to choose what we want for our country. We are not be waiting for anyone to tell us the fate of a Syrian leader lies with the Syrian people. We were born with this right.

“Yes they will meet abroad and negotiate on behalf of Syria’s future, but at the end of the day the whole world knows that if the Syrian people do not agree on any given political solution, they will not apply it.

“All those people who were killed and the millions of refugees living in tents for the past five years did not go through all this so one day the international community can make up their minds regarding Syria. We will decide our own fate, regardless of all the talks and meetings held by them.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday and agreed to hold the peace process on Syria in New York on Friday.

“We will meet this Friday on the 18th in New York with the International Syria Support Group, and then for the purposes of affirming under the UN auspices what we are doing within that group, and if promoted, that we would pass a UN resolution regarding the Vienna communiques and the next steps with respect to negotiations and hopefully a ceasefire,” Kerry told a press conference on Tuesday.

The SNC vice president said that the opposition coalition was not officially invited to the New York talks, but they expressed their views and opinions about the meeting through ambassadors of countries they consider as friends of Syria.

“We know if we were asked to attend the talks in New York, which are going to be a follow up to Vienna 1 and 2, the Syrian government would want to attend too. We refuse to negotiate with the government at this point,” Ghadri said.

Riyadh Talks

The opposition met in Riyadh last week and agreed on a transitional government in the country that does not include Assad.

The coalition, headed by Khaled Khoja, aims to replace Syria’s current leadership with a transitional government after achieving international recognition.

“Many factions signed the agreement in Riyadh which highlights and stresses on the importance of Assad leaving. If some day we were left with no choice but to sit at the same table as the government, we will, but nothing the Syrian people do not want will be applied in our country.

“As we speak there are Russian jets targeting two areas in Latakia suburbs, where there is absolutely no presence for ISIL or al-Nusra Front, why? Because it is now clear, the intention is to target the Syrian rebels and not ISIL or al-Nusra. They mock us by saying they are targeting ISIL,” Ghadri said.

Kerry and Putin agreed to continue what they called a final stage on listing terrorist organisations and on providing assistance to the UN in forming the opposition delegation that should be representative and that should be ready for negotiations with the Syrian government.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Syria’s Assad in surprise visit to Moscow

October 21, 2015 by Nasheman

President Assad visits Russian President Putin, believed to be his first trip abroad since the start of the war in 2011.

assad-putin

by Al Jazeera

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flew into Moscow on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in what is believed to be his first trip abroad since start of the war in 2011.

The leaders discussed their joint military campaign against rebels in Syria, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday, calling the meeting a “working visit”.

The Syrian presidency confirmed that Assad and Putin held three meetings in which Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu were present.

After the meetings, Putin said he was hopeful that a solution may be reached for the war in Syria, where Russia has been carrying out air strikes since the end of September.

“We assume that a long-term solution may be reached on the basis of the latest military developments and political process with participation from all political, ethnic and religious groups,” Putin said.

“This decision can be made only by the Syrian people. Syria is a friendly country. And we are ready to support it not only militarily but politically as well.”

It appears the Kremlin waited for the Syrian leader to return home before breaking the news of the one-day visit.

Political steps

The Syrian leader stressed the importance of “further political steps,” according to a Kremlin statement.

He thanked Putin for his decision to launch its air campaign in Syria on September 30, Russia’s first military foray outside the former Soviet Union since its occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.

“I need to say that the political steps which Russia has taken since the start of the crisis prevented the events in Syria from developing along a more tragic scenario,” Assad said in quotes released by the Kremlin.

“Terrorism which has now spread through the region would have consumed much larger areas and would have spread throughout much more territory if it were not for your actions and your decisions,” he said in comments translated into Russian.

About 250,000 people have been killed since the conflict first began in March 2011, and half the population has been made homeless.

Putin said it was the Syrian people that should decide the fate of their country.

“At the end of the day a long-term settlement can be achieved on the basis of a political process with the participation of all political forces, ethnic and religious groups,” the Kremlin strongman said.

“And ultimately, the final word no doubt should rest solely with the Syrian people.”

‘Assad’s departure needed’

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday said a transition was needed in Syria which guaranteed the departure of Assad.

Davutoglu said there was no change in Turkey’s position that Assad’s government had lost legitimacy.

He was responding to questions from reporters after senior government officials said on Tuesday that Ankara was ready to accept a political transition in which Assad remains in symbolic power for six months before leaving office.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Russia, Syria, Vladimir Putin

Evidence mounts of Russian cluster-bomb use in Syria

October 12, 2015 by Nasheman

Rights group backs activists’ accusation of Russia dropping munitions from jets or giving them to Assad government.

Activists say Russian warplanes dropped cluster bombs in the suburbs of Idlib and Hama [Reuters]

Activists say Russian warplanes dropped cluster bombs in the suburbs of Idlib and Hama [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Human Rights Watch has echoed accusations by Syrian activists that Russia was behind the use of new advanced cluster munitions in Syria, by dropping them from its warplanes or supplying them to the Assad government.

The New York-based group said that photographs it obtained showed that the cluster munitions were dropped on Kafr Halab, a village southwest of Syria’s second city of Aleppo, on October 4.

“It’s disturbing that yet another type of cluster munition is being used in Syria given the harm they cause to civilians for years to come,” said Nadim Houry, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Middle East director.

“Neither Russia nor Syria should use cluster munitions, and both should join the international ban without delay.”

Russia launched an aerial bombing campaign against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad on September 30.

Cluster munitions contain dozens or hundreds of bomblets and are fired in rockets or dropped from the air.

Widely banned, they spread explosives over large areas and are indiscriminate in nature, often continuing to maim and kill long after the initial attack when previously unexploded bomblets detonate.

Their use in Kafr Halab coincides with the emergence of evidence that they have been used in the provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib since Russia launched its intervention.

Activists’ accounts

Human Rights Watch said it “cannot conclusively determine whether Russian or Syrian forces were responsible for the attack” on October 4.

It noted that neither country had banned their use.

A video posted on October 7 by activists that was reportedly taken in the town of Kafr Zeita, northwest of Hama, shows smoke trails of ground-fired rockets launched from the direction of Jabal Zayn al-Abidin and multiple subsequent explosions of submunitions in the town.

Photographs and a video posted online by local activists in October, with title text that says they were taken at Masaran village in Idlib, shows at least one unexploded AO-2.5RT submunition and the remnants of an RBK-500 canister, which can contain up to 108 submunitions.

Reuters published a photograph taken in Masaran that shows a first responder handling unexploded AO-2.5RT submunitions that local activists told the news agency were used in an attack by the Russian air force on October 7.

RuAF cluster-bombs attack on Ma’saran village eastern Ma’rrat al-Numan killed 6 civilians. https://t.co/rcMPLMKlGV pic.twitter.com/7QnHT4kYvJ

— Stork (@NorthernStork) October 7, 2015

Human Rights Watch has documented the use of cluster munitions before in the Syrian conflict, with government forces dropping them from the air since 2012, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group firing them from rockets since late 2014.

According to RT television network, Russia is using in Syria “time-proven bombs and missiles equipped with state-of-the-art system guidance. Precision weapons are used from high altitudes to exclude encounters with portable air-defence systems”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told local media that Russia has the will to use these advanced weapons “if it meets the national interests of our state and the Russian people”.

The Syrian conflict, which began as an uprising against Assad’s government in 2011, has killed up to 250,000 people and forced millions to flee the country.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Russia, Syria

Syria: 300 anti-Assad fighters killed in 24 hours

October 10, 2015 by Nasheman

Russia killed militants in 60 separate attacks in 24 hours. Image used for illustrative purposes. (Al Bawaba/File)

Russia killed militants in 60 separate attacks in 24 hours. Image used for illustrative purposes. (Al Bawaba/File)

by Andolu Ajansi

Russian airstrikes killed 300 suspected militants in 60 separate attacks in northern Syria within the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed Friday.

According to state-owned Russia Today, Russia’s Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Igor Makushev addressed a briefing in Moscow during which he revealed that Russian air forces carried out 67 sorties that also killed two suspected senior Daesh field commanders.

“A precision hit destroyed the headquarters of Liwa al-Haqq, an Islamist group, which has been fighting the government of Bashar Assad since 2012. Russia said that a radio intercept confirmed the deaths of 200 fighters, and two commanders, who Makushev said belonged to Islamic State [Daesh],” Russia Today said.

Another 100 suspected militants were killed in an airstrike near Aleppo, it added.

The targets were mainly hit in Syrian provinces of Raqqa, Latakia, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.

Russia began its air campaign in Syria on Sept. 30.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Russia, Syria

Russia accused of striking civilian targets in Syria

October 2, 2015 by Nasheman

Activists say warplanes are targeting civilians in areas under control of Western-backed rebels, a claim Russia denies.

Activists said Russian airstrikes targeted a mosque Idlib's Jisr al-Shoghour, destroying most of it and injuring civilians [Syria Civil Defence]

Activists said Russian airstrikes targeted a mosque Idlib’s Jisr al-Shoghour, destroying most of it and injuring civilians [Syria Civil Defence]

by Basma Atassi, Al Jazeera

Russian warplanes unleashed a new wave of air strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, amid concerns that many of Moscow’s targets were civilian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Paris on Friday to discuss the air raids with his counterpart Francois Hollande, as Moscow maintained that the attacks were aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group and other “terrorist organisations”.

France is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIL in Syria and Iraq. On Thursday, the countries of the coalition called on Russia to cease its aerial campaign which they said was hitting the Western-backed Syrian rebels and civilians.

“These military actions constitute a further escalation and will only fuel more extremism and radicalisation,” said the coalition, which also includes Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Russian jets on Thursday hit areas in the suburbs of Hama and Idlib, all areas under the control of loose coalitions of rebel groups, including the Western-backed Free Syrian Army.

Activists on the ground told Al Jazeera that the majority of the attacks hit civilian targets, a claim that Moscow, a key ally of Assad, denies.

In the Hama suburb of Habeet, an air strike at about 08:30pm local time killed three civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, and injured 12 others, according to opposition activist Hadi al-Abdullah.

“The destruction caused by the strike was massive. A two-storey house was completely flattened to the ground,” he told Al Jazeera.

Earlier at 02:30pm local time, an attack on Jisr al-Shoghour in the northwestern province of Idlib destroyed a mosque and killed two civilians, other activists told Al Jazeera.

In Idlib’s Jabal al-Zawya region, two children were among at least seven civilians killed in suspected Russian air strikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based monitoring group said Russian air strikes on Syria have killed 28 people since they were launched on Wednesday.

‘Information warfare’

Putin rejected allegations that civilians had been killed in Russian raids, dubbing the reports “information warfare”.

Russia’s defence ministry said the air raids were hitting several ISIL targets, including in the group’s self-proclaimed capital, Raqqa.

Both Western officials and activists on the ground said expressed concern that they are attempting to hit opposition rebel fighters.

Both Idlib and Hama have no ISIL presence since January 2014.

The initial Russian strikes on Wednesday hit Talbiseh, a suburb in the central Homs suburb that is under the control of the Free Syrian Army, Ahrar al-Sham rebel group and Faylaq al-Sham group, and the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra.

The rebel groups had pushed back ISIL from the suburb six months ago.

The air strikes came as Russia presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that would call for consent from Damascus for attacks against ISIL in Syria.

Washington had previously blocked a similar resolution, and no date has been set for a vote on this one.

The Syrian conflict, which began as protests against Assad’s regime in 2011, has escalated into a multi-faceted war that has drawn thousands of fighters from overseas.

Over the past four years, more than 250,000 people have been killed and half of the population displaced.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Russia, Syria, Vladimir Putin

Russia launches first airstrikes in Syria

September 30, 2015 by Nasheman

US officials said the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the Homs province, where Russia is likely support the Syrian Arab Army in its fight against rebels. (AFP/File)

US officials said the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the Homs province, where Russia is likely support the Syrian Arab Army in its fight against rebels. (AFP/File)

by Al Bawaba

Russia has conducted its first airstrikes in Syria, US officials said, shortly after the country spoke to the UN to urge an international coalition against Daesh (ISIS).

US officials, however, told Reuters the airstrikes appeared to have taken place in the western province of Homs, where Daesh has no presence and the Syrian Arab Army is trying to regain territory from opposition fighters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier reported Wednesday at least 27 people were killedand dozens wounded from Syrian army airstrikes. Six of the dead were children, the monitor said.

Russia on Wednesday gained approval from its parliament to conduct airstrikes in the war-torn country.

“The Federation Council unanimously supported the President’s request — 162 votes in favor of granting permission,” Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Ivanov said, according to Russian news agency Tass.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the UN General Assembly said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was the force to support to defeat Daesh. But analysts have expressed concern over Russian troops’ deployment in regime-held areas, indicating Russian military force would likely be used against rebels.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Russia, Syria

Syria army dropped 2,000 barrel bombs since July: US

August 14, 2015 by Nasheman

Assad government is seen as becoming reliant on ‘use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians’

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the Syrian war (AFP)

by Middle East Eye

Syrian forces have dropped more than 2,000 barrel bombs across the country since July, killing hundreds of people, the US ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday.

US envoy Samantha Power called for action to end the use of a type of improvised explosive that has particularly been targeted at the Damascus suburb of Darayya and the southwest region of Zabadani, near the Lebanon border.

“The Assad regime has apparently grown reliant on the repugnant use of barrel bombs as an instrument of terror against innocent Syrian civilians,” Power said in a statement.

“It is long past time for the international community to come together to end the deplorable use of barrel bombs and all other forms of attacks against civilians in Syria.”

The United States, France and Britain have repeatedly accused President Bashar al-Assad’s forces of using helicopters to drop barrels rigged with explosives on civilian areas.

Power condemned the latest wave of indiscriminate bombings that have “killed hundreds of people and destroyed schools, mosques, markets, hospitals and ambulances”.

The UN Security Council is discussing proposals for a resolution on barrel bombs that would increase the pressure on Damascus even though it adopted a resolution in February last year demanding an end to the attacks.

Human rights group say barrel bombs are the leading killer in the war, now in its fifth year, with more than 240,000 people dead.

Syrian opposition in Russia

Meanwhile, Syria’s main opposition group on Thursday insisted that Assad must go as it met with Russia’s foreign minister.

The head of Syria’s National Coalition Khaled Khoja held talks with top diplomat Sergei Lavrov as part of a fresh push by Russia to find a way out of the four-year civil war.

Moscow – one of Assad’s main backers – is pushing a plan for a broader grouping than the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, to include Syria’s government and its allies.

But Khoja – in Moscow for his first talks since February 2014 – ruled out cooperating with Assad and reiterated demands that the strongman must leave before any transitional government can be set up.

“Bashar Assad has no role in the future of Syria,” Khoja said in an interview with the Interfax news agency translated into Russian.

At the start of the meeting, Lavrov insisted that Russia was working with regional and international players to find a political solution to the crisis and stop Syria from becoming a “hotbed of terrorism”.

“The main thing now is that these interests translate into practical coordinated steps,” Lavrov said.

National Coalition representative Badr Jamous described the visit as “very good,” Russian Interfax reported after the sit-down.

“There were many issues where we agreed with the Russian representatives,” Jamous was quoted as saying.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir rejected calls to work with Assad against IS after a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

The spate of meetings is part of a broader diplomatic flurry that saw Lavrov sit down with Jubeir and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Doha earlier this month.

As part of the push, Lavrov is expected to meet with the head of a newer grouping of opposition figures known as the Cairo Conference Committee on Friday.

On Wednesday, Russia’s top Middle East envoy met in Moscow with the head of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) Saleh Muslim to discuss the mooted anti-IS coalition and attempts to unite Syria’s opposition groups.

Syria’s opposition and Western officials have hinted that Moscow’s backing for Assad may be wavering, but Moscow insists it remains firmly behind the Syrian leader.

Kerry complains to Moscow about Iran general’s visit

Meanwhile, Kerry called Lavrov on Thursday to express concern about a visit to Moscow by the commander of Iran’s covert forces, a senior State Department official said.

General Qassem Suleimani, head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ foreign operations, reportedly visited Russia late last month despite being subject to UN-backed international sanctions.

A State Department spokesman said on Wednesday the United States had confirmed the trip had taken place and said US officials would raise their concerns with Russia at an upcoming New York meeting on violent extremism.

“Secretary Kerry also raised his concerns about the travel to Moscow by IRGC Commander Qassem Suleimani,” the senior official said on Thursday, outlining a call between the two diplomats.

Suleimani is one of several Iranian officials targeted by a 2007 United Nations travel ban because of their alleged links to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

Despite the recent deal struck by Iran and world powers on its nuclear programme, the targeted sanctions against Suleimani and many of his colleagues remain in effect.

Suleimani has also been sighted visiting Iranian-backed forces in Iraq.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, Syria

Saudi Arabia rejects Russian calls to work with Assad against IS

August 13, 2015 by Nasheman

Saudi Arabia Russian

by Dawn

Moscow: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Tuesday poured cold water on Russian calls to join forces with the Syrian authorities against the self-styled Islamic State, insisting it would never work with President Bashar al Assad.

Moscow — one of Assad’s few remaining allies — has called for coordination between the Syrian government and members of an international coalition fighting the extremist group, which controls swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq.

But Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir insisted there would be no cooperation with the Syrian government after meeting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.

“As for a coalition in which Saudi Arabia would participate with the government of Syria, then we need to exclude that. It is not part of our plans,” Jubeir said in comments translated into Russian.

“Our position has not changed… there is no place for Assad in the future of Syria,” Jubeir said.

“We think that Bashar al Assad is part of the problem, not part of the solution.” Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that began an air campaign against IS in Syria last September.

Russia supports Assad while Saudi Arabia insists he must step down to help end a four-year conflict that has cost over 240,000 lives.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Bashar al-Assad, IS, ISIL, ISIS, Islamic State, Russia, Saudi Arabia

Nusra leader: Our mission is to defeat Syrian regime

May 28, 2015 by Nasheman

Abu Mohammed al-Golani in exclusive interview to Al Jazeera says his group has no specific agenda to target West.

Abu Mohammad al-Golani

by Al Jazeera

The leader of the Nusra Front, one of Syria’s most powerful rebel groups, has said that his group’s main mission is to dislodge the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and that it has no agenda to target the West unless provoked.

“We are only here to accomplish one mission, to fight the regime and its agents on the ground, including Hezbollah and others,” Abu Mohammed al-Golani said in an exclusive interview aired on Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

“Nusra Front doesn’t have any plans or directives to target the West. We received clear orders not to use Syria as a launching pad to attack the US or Europe in order to not sabotage the true mission against the regime. Maybe al-Qaeda does that but not here in Syria,” he said.

But his statements did include a warning against the US over its attacks on the armed group, which has been blacklisted a “terrorist organisation” by the US.

“Our options are open when it comes to targeting the Americans if they will continue their attacks against us in Syria. Everyone has the right to defend themselves,” he said in an interview with the Doha-based network.

‘Khorasan fabricated’

Golani not only accused Western nations of backing the government of President Assad against the rebels, but of also fabricating the “Khorasan” group – which Washington says is a covert faction in Syria that aspires to attack the US.

“The West is targeting Nusra because they know we are the real threat to the Assad regime. This is why they came out and said they are only targeting this group that they called Khorasan,” the leader of al-Qaeda’s Syria branch said.

“There is nothing called Khorasan group.The Americans came up with it to deceive the public. They claim that this secret group was set up to target the Americans but this is not right.”

He also noted that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL), which has been accused of rampant atrocities and controls large parts of the country, was a main threat to the Nusra Front.

“Assad forces are fighting us on one end, Hezbollah on another and ISIL on a third front. It is all about their mutual interests.”

Alawites will not be targeted

When questioned whether the Nusra Front planned to establish Islamic state in Syria, Golani said that after the whole war is over, all factions and groups in the country will be consulted before considering
“establishing an Islamic state”.

Golani also said that his group will not target the country’s Alawite minority despite their support for Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“The battle does not end in Qardaha, the Alawite village and the birthplace of the Assad clan,” he said.

“Our war is not a matter of revenge against the Alawites despite the fact that in Islam, they are considered to be heretics.

Filed Under: Muslim World Tagged With: Abu Mohammad al-Golani, Bashar al-Assad, Jabhat al-Nusra, Syria

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