Syria’s Assad blames Western support for ‘terrorists’ for migrant crisis

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has blamed Europe’s refugee crisis on Western support for “terrorists”, as people fleeing his country’s civil war stream towards the European Union. In his first public comments on the mass migration, broadcast on Wednesday, Assad said Europe could expect more refugees. Countries including the United States, Turkey and Saudi Arabia want to see Assad gone from power and have supported the opposition to his rule during the four-year-old war, including some of the armed groups fighting him. “As for the president, he comes to power with the people’s assent through elections, and if he leaves, he leaves if the people demand it, not because of the judgment of the United States, the UN Security Council, the Geneva Conference or the Geneva Communique,” he said.

What is certain is that things have changed drastically. For several months Daesh (Islamic State) has considerably extended its presence on Syrian territory.

Jean-Yves Le Drian

Islamic State fighters have made considerable progress near the contested northern Syrian city of Aleppo and are threatening to rout core elements of Western-backed Syrian rebel forces there, France’s defence minister said on Wednesday. The Islamist militant group launched an offensive in northern Aleppo province last month, in a blow to the rebels in an area where the United States and Turkey are planning to open a new front against the movement. Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Inter radio that one of the reasons why Paris had decided to join air strikes in Syria over the coming weeks was because Islamic State was expanding rapidly.

As long as they follow this propaganda, they will have more refugees. If you are worried about them, stop supporting terrorists.

Syria President Bashar al-Assad

Middle East Aleppo