Israel Matzav

UN Shocker: Most Syrian rebels don't want democracy

All those people who think they can find the 'non-Islamists' to support in the current conflict in Syria may be in for a surprise: The United Nations is out with a report that claims that most of the rebels in Syria are not seeking a democracy.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro said his team of investigators had documented horrific crimes on both sides, although the scale of those committed by President Bashar al-Assad's forces was greater.

"It was said the rebels were angels, but there is only a minority of fighters with a democratic history who believe in the Syrian mosaic and want a state for all," he said.

"The majority of rebels are very far from having democratic thoughts and have other aspirations."

The U.N. Security Council is set to blacklist Syria's Islamist al-Nusra Front as an alias of al Qaeda in Iraq. Foreign fighters, many of them from Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, have also radicalized the rebels.

...

Carla Del Ponte, a former Swiss attorney general who served as prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and is one of four commissioners on the team, said she had never seen violence like that in Syria.

"The crimes are committed by both sides," she said. "The cruelty of these crimes is unbelievable. I have never seen that, not even in Bosnia."

Labels: Bashar al-Assad, Free Syrian Army, Nusra Front, Syria, Syrian uprising, United Nations

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:05 PM