The Organisation for Democracy and Freedom in Syria

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Ribal Al-Assad: All foreign fighters must leave Syria immediately

Friday, 27 September 2013 1 more image(s) »Syrian militia trained in Iran

Dutch news coverage of Iranian troops working alongside troops loyal to the Syrian regime has thrown new light on the proxy war being fought within Syria.

In condemning the presence of all foreign fighters within the country, I speak for everyone who wishes for peace and democracy in Syria .

All foreign fighters must leave Syria immediately, irrespective of their affiliations or beliefs.

We must not condemn the presence of foreign fighters on one side and turn a blind eye on the other.

The regime’s agreement to hand-over its chemical weapons and the apparent collusion between the US and Russia that instigated it, provided the slimmest slivers of light in this otherwise dark period in Syria’s history. But the presence of so many external forces within Syria is a reminder that we should not be misled into thinking that the corner has been turned.

What was once (however briefly) an internal conflict, sparked by the onset of the Arab ‘Spring’, has become the focal point for something far larger and more sinister.

As I predicted back in 2011, Syria has become the battlefield for a proxy war. On a geopolitical level, recent events have highlighted the vested interests of the US and NATO vying with those of Russia and China. A re-emergence of the Cold War, this began with war games in Jordan and the South China Sea, but has honed in on Syria with battleships entering the Mediterranean, President Obama threatening military intervention, and President Putin implying that he would respond by upping the flow of arms to Syria and her allies.

This polarisation has been mirrored across the Middle East. Battle-lines have hardened between the Shia-dominated axis running through Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria and the Sunni-led axis stretching from Turkey to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan.

Syria has become a magnet for dogmatic supporters of both sides. The fighter interviewed by Dutch TV explained that he was fighting alongside Iranians, Hezbollah and the Iraqi and Afghan Mujahideen. Jihadists from across the world have found their way into Syria, incited by calls-to-arms from extremist Clerics to take arms against the regime.

Latest estimates suggest that the opposition ‘force’ of 100,000 comprises up to 1,000 separate elements, 50% of whom are considered to represent groups affiliated to Al Qaeda and Salafist groups, and a further 30,000 belonging to groups with an "Islamic character".

As a result, the fighting has become more intense and the brutal treatment of prisoners and civilians has intensified. Massacres have been committed against innocent civilians and minority groups. Soldiers have been executed.

The ripples of the conflict spreading out from Syria have become waves. Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Israel are feeling its effects. The chemical weapons agreement will do nothing to calm them. But it does provide a foundation for diplomacy.

What is required next is dialogue, not posturing. Every political party desiring true and genuine democracy in Syria must be represented. As must the regime, which has just admitted that a stalemate has been reached. A similar impasse was evident early in the Iran Iraq conflict last century. But it failed to stop the massacre of millions more people. The only way to douse the flames of violence is for the International Community to de-escalate tensions and champion a diplomatic solution. Initially this means striving to halt the flow of arms to both sides of the conflict.

We must lobby for peaceful dialogue and a peaceful transition to democracy, before a dreadful civil war completes its metamorphosis into a full-blown regional conflict.

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