Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told a European Parliament delegation Sunday that recent terror attacks and extremism in Europe are a product of western support for rebel groups in Syria.
“The problems Europe faces today of terrorism, extremism and waves of refugees are caused by some western leaders’ adoption of policies which do not serve their people,” Assad told the delegation, according to Reuters. “Especially when those leaders give support and political cover to terrorist groups inside Syria.”
For Assad, western funding for “moderate rebels” serves to fuel the ongoing conflict in Syria, which has now dragged on for more than five years.
Based on data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the conflict has forced 3 million to flee Syria and internally displaced 6.5 million others in the country. Many of the 3 million Syrian refugees have made their way to Europe, and Germany’s domestic intelligence service recently confirmed that at least 17 Islamic State militants posed as refugees in regular migrant flows, in order to gain access deep into Europe and plan attacks. Posing as refugees is exactly what ISIS leadership set militants would do.
Western governments have nevertheless continued to support Syrian rebel groups, even though some of the groups have turned on each other, as a result of conflicting end goals. In particular, Pentagon-funded rebel groups have clashed with CIA-funded rebel groups. Pentagon groups are more aimed at taking down ISIS, while CIA groups are bent on going directly after Assad. Still, even with funding, rebels are notoriously difficult to control and so often act on their own agendas using western weapons and training.
Additionally, Russian and Iranian support for Assad has completely turned the tide of the war, leaving rebels on the defensive, despite the fact that these disparate groups have received aid from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Still, it’s unclear when the war will be over.
So far, attempts at negotiating peace between Assad and the rebels have proved fruitless. United Nations peace talks collapsed near the end of April after a shaky start. There is no telling when or if they will resume.
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