Syria Coalition Hails Deir Ezzor Uprising Against ISIS

Yahya Maktabi, member of the Syrian Coalition, hails the popular uprising in Deir Ezzor against ISIS, noting that “this anticipated revolt comes in line with Syrians’ outright rejection of ISIS’s and its fanatic rule. They sent a message to ISIS that “though you managed to defeat some rebel battalions, you will not be allowed to dominate the Syrian people who vowed to make their bodies the bridge on which Syrians will cross to a free and democratic state. This uprising also sends a message to the world that there is no place in Syria for extremism and bigotry.” Activists in eastern rural Deir Ezzor said that rebels expelled ISIS militants from the towns of Taiyana and Granij and the road linking them. Maktabi pointed out that ISIS’s rise in Syria is the result of the international community’s reluctance to empower the moderate Syrian rebels who proved beyond doubt that they are the only armed capable of fighting the Assad regime and the extremists. This popular uprising clearly shows that ISIS was not and will never be one of the revolutionary factions which took up arms to defend the Syrian people against Assad’s brutal crackdown. ISIS’s extremism serves only to promote Assad’s claims who has been seeking to put the world and the Syrian people in front of two options, extremists or me.” Maktabi concluded his remarks calling on all the tribesmen in Deir Ezzor to join the fight against ISIS and stand on the side of the rebels fighters who are battling this extremist group.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)