KhalId Saleh, President of the Media Office, described the car bombing at the market in the town of Atmah near the Turkish border as a “terrorist and cowardly act.” Nearly 40 civilians, including women and children, were killed or wounded the blast. “This terrorist bombing, part of a series of similar crimes that targeted Atmah and other towns and cities across Syria, serves only the Assad regime and bear the fingerprints of organizations hostile to the goals and aspirations of the Syrians and their rights to freedom, justice and dignity. The blast was unquestionably instigated by the string of gains made by rebels made recently, to which the Assad regime retaliated by vengeful attacks on unarmed civilians,” Saleh said. Khalid al-Ali, member of the Syrian Coalition, said earlier that “the remarkable gains made by rebels lately in various areas across Syria are a message to the international community that “your failure to stop Assad’s barrel bomb and chemical attacks does not in any way mean that we will accept to live under tyranny and dictatorship anymore. While we have tried every possible means to reach a political solution and avoid the bloodshed, Bashar al-Assad arrogantly rejected all our proposals and still insists on using Syrians as a fuel to achieve Iran’s expansionist goals in the region. The rebels’ setting up of a joint military operation room in northern and western rural Hama, as well as the high-level military coordination in Qalamoun were a key factor in turning the tide of the war against regime forces and their backers. These rebels’ gains clearly demonstrate that the Assad regime is weaker than everyone thinks, and that it can be toppled if rebel battalions are unified into one coherent body and under one command. As for ISIS and other extremist groups, they should realize that the Syrian people, who rebelled against the most savage dictatorship in the region, will not accept to be ruled by extremists, but will continue to make the biggest sacrifices to build a democratic, free and pluralist Syria.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
