Assad’s Regime Nourishes the Monster of Extremism through Widespread Killing of Civilians

The Syrian Coalition stresses that the Assad regime is waging a barbaric campaign against Aleppo and al Dumeir in Rural Damascus with the aim of “causing chaos and exacting revenge through targeting residential neighborhoods.” The Syrian Coalition said in a press statement that activists “documented the names of 103 civilians killed in Aleppo amid fear of a rise in the number of casualties as there are more than 350 wounded.”  Twenty-one people were killed in the town of Dumeir in Rural Damascus after Assad’s fighter planes carried out three air strikes. There has been aerial shelling on Aleppo for the last three days and it continues up to this morning. The Syrian Coalition also said that the Assad regime “is seeking reprisals by bombing residential neighborhoods, especially markets and the poorest and overcrowded neighborhoods, including Al-Haidariah, Ard al-Hamrah, al-Marjeh, Bab al-Neyrab, al-Anssari al-Sharqi, Qaddi Asskar, al-Saliheen, al-Sokkari, al-Fardous, Dahrat Awad, and Tareeq al-Bab.” The statement went on: “The Assad regime continues to use militias coming from Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon to ruthlessly massacre innocent civilians in Syria and force them into submission. It refuses to allow humanitarian convoys to access besieged areas. Hundreds of thousands of activists and prisoners of conscience remain detained in Assad’s prisons. All this is indicative of the regime’s continued attempts to stymie efforts aimed at finding a political solution that would end the suffering of the Syrian people and ensure Syria’s transition into democracy.” Furthermore, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that Bashar al-Assad feeds “the monster of extremism” to show the world that his regime is the best option compared to “hard-liners.” Kerry accused Assad of fomenting sectarian strife and infighting among the ranks of the opposition, which has been united for a long time. Kerry also expressed confidence in the possibility of  “reuniting the moderate opposition.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)