- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Assad: No Difference Between Free Syrian Army, Daesh, Nusra Front

© REUTERS / Ammar AbdullahFree Syrian Army fighters launch a Grad rocket from Halfaya town in Hama province (File)
Free Syrian Army fighters launch a Grad rocket from Halfaya town in Hama province (File) - Sputnik International
Subscribe
There is no difference between the Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (also known as al-Nusra Front, or Jabhat al-Nusra) terrorist groups and the Free Syrian Army, Syrian President Bashar Assad has stressed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Daesh and the Jabhat Fatah al Sham groups are banned in Russia and are considered terrorist organizations by numerous other countries.

Members of the Shi'ite Badr Organisation undergo training before the upcoming battle to recapture Mosul in Diyala province, Iraq September 27, 2016 - Sputnik International
Washington and Riyadh 'Plan to Let Daesh Leave Mosul and Move to Syria'

"When terrorists came to Syria, if we talk about the start of the problem, nobody was talking about al-Nusra or ISIS [Daesh] back then. They were simply called the Free Syrian Army, an allegedly social force fighting against the government and the army. But in reality…already back then we can see the beheading of people starting from the first weeks. This means it was a radical movement from the start," Assad told Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda daily.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was Damascus' major challenger at the beginning of the internal conflict in Syria when it managed to unite nearly all opposition factions considered by the West to be the so-called "moderate" opposition. The FSA then split into several groups and shrank to some 60 units, which are allied to Jabhat Fatah al Sham, according to Syrian intelligence.

"When it [the Free Syrian Army] started to grow and it became impossible to hide the crimes of beheadings, the West was forced to accept the existence of al-Nusra [Jabhat Fatah al Sham]. But it is actually the Free Syrian Army. It is ISIS [IS]. They have the same roots and move from one area to another," Assad said.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала