Syrian opposition quits SNC over its reliance on foreign supporters
The Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a major Syrian anti-government group, says it has quit the opposition as it is manipulated by “foreign” forces.
In a Saturday letter to the so-called Syrian National Coalition (SNC), LCC censured SNC's transformation into “blocs linked to foreign forces”, referring to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, AFP reported.
LCC admitted that the SNC’s reliance on “blocs related to factors and external forces” has been the main reason for the outbreak of “shameful internal conflicts over the personal ambitions of some members of the (anti-government) coalition", adding that LCC was "ashamed... to see what has happened to the coalition."
“We wish to inform you that the LCC has decided to withdraw officially from the coalition…We had hoped that this political grouping, of which we are one of the founders, would realize the aspirations of the people,” the letter further read.
Plagued by division and rivalry among its supporters Riyadh, Doha, and Ankara, the SNC has been unable to present a common front so far.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had previously described the opposition groups as “puppets paid from the outside,” who do not represent the people.
“Opposition means national; it means working for the interests of the Syrian people. It cannot be an opposition if it’s a puppet of Qatar or Saudi Arabia or any Western country, including the United States, paid from the outside. It should be Syrian… you have to separate the national and the puppets,” said Assad in an interview with the US magazine, Foreign Affairs, published on January 26.
Syria has been grappling with massive foreign-sponsored militancy for the past four years. The conflict has reportedly killed an estimated 230,000 people since early 2011, including nearly 11,500 children.
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