26.09 Islamist Syrian Rebels Reject Opposition Backed by West
WASHINGTON, September 25 (RIA Novosti) Thousands of armed Syrian rebels have split from the main Western-backed opposition group to create a new coalition guided by Islamic sharia law, a move analysts say could undercut a US drive to empower moderates in the war-torn country.
Thirteen rebel factions led by the al-Qaida-linked militant group Nusra Front which Washington considers a terrorist organization said in a joint statement posted online late Tuesday that their interests are not represented by the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), a Western-backed Syrian opposition group based in Turkey.
These forces feel that all groups formed abroad without returning to the country do not represent them, so the forces will not recognize them, said the statement, which was read online by a political leader of the Tawheed Brigade rebel faction.
The administration of US President Barack Obama has been providing military and humanitarian aid to opposition groups seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Washington accuses of deploying chemical weapons in the two-year-old conflict.
The White House has repeatedly said that it is vetting the rebel groups it works with to ensure the United States is not arming terrorists, though it concedes that extremist Islamic elements have joined the opposition in fighting Assads forces.
Both Assad and his staunch ally, Russia, have argued that the Syrian opposition is teeming with Islamic extremists who could spread terrorism beyond Syrias borders should the rebels topple Assad.
It was not immediately clear what the newly created Islamist rebel faction would look like, but the announced coalition made it clear in its statement that it does not recognize what it called the supposed government led by Ahmad Tumeh, a dentist elected earlier this month as the SNCs provisional prime minister.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday that American officials had seen the reports and were discussing with the moderate opposition what impact this will have going forward, The Washington Post reported.
A divided opposition benefits the Assad regime and opportunists who are using the conflict to further their own extreme agenda, Psaki in the statement to the Post, adding that Washington would continue taking into account that alliances and associations often change on the ground based on resources and needs of the moment.
Aron Lund, an expert on Syrian rebel factions, said that if the Islamist coalition does not succumb to infighting and collapse, its announced break from the Western-backed opposition is a big deal and blow to US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).
It represents the rebellion of a large part of the
