Khaled Saleh, head of the Media Office, said that “the genocide being carried out by fighters of the Islamic State (IS) against the tribesmen of rural Deir Ezzor came as vengeful retaliation to the popular uprising against this terrorist organization. Activists said that nearly 700 civilians were summarily executed and 1,800 detained by IS in rural Deir Ezzor after the extremist organization put down a popular uprising against its rule. The Syrian youth in general, and the youth of Deir Ezzor in particular, are suffering the consequences of the international community’s failure to empower the moderate Syrian rebels who proved themselves as the only force capable of stemming the tide of this terrorist organization whose brutal practices are completely alien to the Syrian people.” Moreover, Saleh warned of the dire consequences of the crippling siege imposed by IS on rural Deir Ezzor, which is seen as an indicator of IS’s intention to commit more wholesale crimes against the people of Deir Ezzor who have long rejected the terrorism of IS and the Assad regime. It is unacceptable that the international community leaves Syrians as prey for these terrorist groups, imported and raised by the Assad regime. The Assad regime’s primary goal remains to be the promotion of its long-advocated policy: either me or terrorists.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)
