Assad Shielding Extremist Rebel Groups, says al-Jarba

Ahmed al-Jarba, the President of the Syrian National Coalition, said Friday that he suspects the government of Bashar al-Assad is not attacking extremist groups in Syria in an attempt to undermine the more moderate Free Syrian Army.

“The problem is today that the regime is targeting only the areas under the control of the Free Syrian Army,” al-Jarba said through a translator at a press conference hosted by the United Nations Correspondent’s Association.

“Bashar al-Assad and his regime have left all the areas under control of Jihad al-Nusra and the extremist groups because we think that he is only fighting us. There is some kind of agreement, we don’t know how, between the regime and those extremist groups on the ground.”

“That makes the extremist groups stronger and stronger every day, because they have their own money sources and their own weapon sources. We have nothing. We have only the international community’s help, and the Arabic countries’ help.”

Despite what he saw as this frustrating new tactic, al-Jarba was upbeat about the ability of the Free Syrian Army to fight back.

“There is a new strategy now in the Free Syrian Army commands,” al-Jarba said, “and we think that within one month you will see a lot of changes on the ground.”

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