Syrian Coalition Warns of Humanitarian Catastrophe in Aleppo Ahead of the Regime’s Advance

Bader Jamous, member of the political committee, said that the international anti-ISIS alliance’s ignoring of the FSA’s calls for urgent military aid especially in northern rural Aleppo is incomprehensible and unacceptable, warning of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe if regime forces continue advancing on the city and encircling it. “With the onset of the US-led coalition’s strikes against ISIS positions in Syria, the Assad regime has escalated attacks on the FSA-held areas, committing more than 40 massacres against civilians. Regime forces also continue to wrench away areas held by the FSA. which it is feared would undermine the Syrians’ confidence in the goals of the international anti-ISIS alliance,” Jamous said. Moreover, he criticizes the US-led alliance’s concentration on one Syrian town while turning a blind eye to the rest of Syrian cities that have been hammered by Assad’s artillery and barrel bombs. “Any further progress by regime forces around Aleppo would decrease the chances of winning the battle against ISIS in the long run. The liberation of northern rural Aleppo has been one of the revolution’s most important achievements, and the failure to supply the outgunned and outnumbered FSA fighters there with military aid would be seen as betrayal of the revolution.” Abdul Hakim Bashar, vice president of the Syrian Coalition, criticizes the strategy pursued by the United States in Syria for limiting the military aid to the Kurdish militants while still ignoring the Free Syrian Army though it has been battling ISIS for nearly a year. “The United States is arming and pushing some Syrian Kurdish armed factions in the battle against ISIS while ignoring the calls of the Syrian Arabs for military aid they need to fight ISIS. We are afraid that this policy will backfire, especially that the many of the disenfranchised Arab communities might have no other option but to resort to ISIS,” Bashar said. “We are also afraid that this policy might lead to Kurdish-Arabic conflict which would represent a setback to the Syrian revolution. We reiterate that the most feasible strategy to fight ISIS and shrink its social base is through supplying the Free Syrian Army with arms as the majority of the FSA fighters are Sunni Arabs who are spearheading that battle against ISIS.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)