Syrian Coalition: The Failure to Save Aleppo Would Boost Terrorism

Salem al-Meslet, spokesman for the Syrian Coalition, calls on the international anti-terrorism alliance to take immediate action and prevent the Assad regime from encircling Aleppo, warning that any failure to protect civilians and combat terrorism in all its forms would put the credibility of this alliance at stake. “The failure to supply the Free Syrian Army with weapons to counter the terrorism practiced by Assad and ISIS would give a boost to terrorism and also contrasts with the strategy and goals of the international anti-ISIS coalition. Supporting terrorism is not done solely by giving terrorists direct support, but by also failing to support those who resist terrorism. Everyone knows through facts on the ground that the FSA is the only force capable of combating terrorism in all its form.” Nasr al-Hariri, Secretary General of the Syrian Coalition, warns of the grave consequences of the inaction in proving support for the Free Syrian Army in the decisive battle against regime forces and ISIS in northern Aleppo. Activists said that regime forces took control of the village of Jubaila, the cement and glass factories near Aleppo Central Prison, thus linking up with regime forces stationed in the towns of Handarat and Sifat in addition to coming closer to the towns of Nibbul and Al Zahraa’. Hariri said that the Assad regime seeks through this advance to break the siege the rebels have laid on regime forces stationed in these two towns and consequently encircling the entire city of Aleppo and areas controlled by the FSA.” Moreover, he expressed astonishment at the insistence of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition to send ground troops to defend the town of Kobane while failing to provide support for the FSA which has fighting on two fronts against the Assad regime and ISIS. It should be noted that the FSA had expelled ISIS from rural Idlib and most of rural Aleppo in early 2014. We call on all FSA battalions in northern Syria to relieve their comrades in northern Aleppo, where battles are raging between the FSA and regime forces backed by Iranian and Hezbollah militias. We also call on the international anti-ISIS coalition to deliver urgent military support for the FSA in northern Aleppo to help it repel the regime’s attempts to encircle the city. (Source: Syrian Coalition)