Syria was ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world in 2017 as the Assad regime and Iranian militias continue to dominate state institutions. A Syrian Coalition official said that this new ranking, which came a few days after Syria was ranked the most dangerous country in the world, is further evidence of the disintegration of the state institutions which were hijacked by the sectarian militias.
Member of the Syrian Coalition’s political committee Oqab Yahya said that the Assad regime’s terrorism and the war crimes it has committed over the past eight years have turned Syria into a nest for criminals from the Hezbollah militia and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as the other terrorist militias that Assad brought into the country. He stressed that these militias led to the emergence of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and PYD.
Yahya pointed out that these surveys confirmed the absence of a safe environment at the moment in Syria and indicated the existence of major security, political and humanitarian crises in the country. He stressed that Russia cannot deny the existence of these crises just as it cannot impose its will on the Syrian people, including trying to force the refugees to return to Syria and live once again at the mercy of the Assad regime.
Yahya went on to say that the recent confirmation of the war crimes and torture that the Assad regime committed against detainees has indicted Moscow before the international public opinion. He noted that Russia has vigorously defended Assad at the UN Security Council and cast the veto 11 times to prevent the adoption of a resolution condemning the Assad regime and calling for bringing it before justice.
Out of 163 countries, Syria was ranked the least livable country in the world on the 2018 World Peace Index. However, Russia, which was ranked the least peaceful European country, has recently begun pushing for the return of Syrian refugees to Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)