WESTERN LEADERS ‘LOST’
Assad chides anti-ISIL campaign
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday the air campaign by Russia against “terrorists” in his country must succeed or the whole region will be destroyed, stressing that the fight against terrorism must precede a political process.
In an interview with Iran’s Khabar TV, Assad also accused Western nations of fuelling the refugee crisis and said the U.S.-led coalition to fight ISIL will spark only more instability in his country and the region.
Assad said it is up to the Syrian people to decide who rules the country and under what political system, not foreign leaders.
“What is for certain is that the Western officials are lost, lack clarity of vision and are feeling the failure of their plots (toward Syria),” he said. “The only goal that was realized ... is the destruction of much infrastructure in Syria, shedding lots of blood.”
These were Assad’s first comments since Russia launched its air campaign against multiple armed groups Wednesday in Syria. While ISIL controls large swaths of eastern Syria, the Russian attacks have largely focused on the northwestern and central provinces — the gateways to the heartland of Assad’s power in the capital and on the Mediterranean coast. Russia’s only naval base outside of its territories is also located on the coast, in the Syrian city of Tartus.
On Sunday, a suicide attack in the centre of Homs city, controlled by the government, killed one person and injured 18 others. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack. It was the first such attack by the militant group in Homs following the start of the Russian campaign, which has hit parts of the province controlled by rebel groups. But an ancient town in Homs province, which is controlled by ISIL, was spared.
Assad said the Russian campaign has the potential to succeed because it is supported by Iran and has international, if not Western, support. He called on countries that support the armed opposition to stop.
“It must succeed or we are facing the destruction of a whole region, and not a country or two,” he said. “The chances for success are large, not small.”
He said the Russian intervention is open-ended, and was planned in co-operation with the Syrian military.
Syria’s war is entering its fifth year, with at least 250,000 people killed and half of the prewar population on the move — 4 million refugees and 8 million internally displaced.
Assad has accused Western countries, neighbouring Turkey and some Gulf states of fuelling the war by supporting the armed opposition, all of which he calls terrorists. ISIL and al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front, are among the strongest groups operating in Syria. But there are dozens of other rebel groups, some western-backed and armed, fighting against Assad and ISIL.
Assad said fighting terrorism is “the basis for any solution in Syria.”
“The only solution for us is to strike at terrorism. Implementing any solution or political ideas agreed upon will need a state of stability. Otherwise it will have no value,” he said.
Russia said it is launching its campaign to target ISIL and other terrorists groups, but some of the targets have included Westernbacked groups.
On Sunday, the fifth day of the air campaign, Russia said its warplanes had carried out 20 missions in the past day, attacking ISIL positions in the northwestern province of Idlib. The province is controlled by a rebel coalition known as Jaish al-Fatah, which includes the Nusra Front, but not ISIL. The statement also said the warplanes attacked a training camp in Raqqa province, which is controlled by ISIL.
Activists reported raids in the central province of Homs, where at least two children and a shepherd were killed in the town of Talbiseh and nearby areas. A video posted on an activist media platform posted showed panicked residents fleeing.
Assad has in recent months suffered a series of battlefield setbacks, conceding that his army has had to relinquish some areas in the north to be able to better defend core areas seen as more critical to the government. Some say Russia’s campaign is essentially a mission to prop up the embattled president.