One of the top rebel commanders in Syria has accused "hesitant"
American and British policy-makers of effectively backing the Syrian regime of
President Bashar al-Assad.
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| Col. Abdul Jabbar al-Okaidi |
Col Abdul Jabbar
al-Okaidi said by accepting Assad's offer to scrap his chemical weapons, the
United States gave him space to step up conventional attacks.
"The West is
supporting the criminal Assad regime," he told Tim Whewell in an interview
for BBC Newsnight.
It was his first
foreign interview since stepping down this week as head of the Aleppo military
council.
The council forms part
of the Free Syrian Army, which the West regards as the main moderate grouping
on the rebel side.
"When Mr. Obama
says chemical weapons are a red line, that gives the green light to
conventional weapons," the colonel told the BBC.
"Ballistic
missiles, Scud missiles, fighter jets like MIGs and Sukhois, helicopters,
rocket launchers and tanks - all these can be used by the regime to kill
Syrians. So the Western stance has been very negative towards the Syrian
revolution."
He described Britain's
approach as "very hesitant."
"They have not
provided anything. They didn't stand with the revolution at all.
"If you want to
compare the British and French and American position towards [Libya's Moammar]
Gaddafi and towards Assad, then the difference is enormous."
Col. Okaidi said Assad
has been given space to intensify conventional warfare
"They made a quick
decision there by removing the Gaddafi regime and providing help for the Libyan
people to remove that dictator -- while here we are about to go into the third
year and Britain and the whole world is standing by and watching."
Col Okaidi, a former
career officer in the Syrian army, was speaking in the Turkish city of
Gaziantep, ahead of a two-day meeting of Syrian opposition politicians in
Istanbul starting today.
They will debate
whether to attend the so-called "Geneva-2" peace conference.
Western powers and
Russia are pushing for the talks to go ahead.
Geneva 'doomed'
But Col Okaidi said he
opposed the plan.
"It will not
succeed while the regime continues to kill people, bomb them from the air and
direct artillery fire at them.
"I don't think
under such circumstances anybody can go into negotiations and peace talks with
such a criminal regime," he said.
Col. Okaidi warned that
the failure of the West to supply weapons to moderate rebel groups was
strengthening the hand of the better-armed Islamists.
He said: "In terms
of weapons and ammunition we have not received anything at all.
"Some
communication kits -- that's all, and some ready meals from the U.S. I don't
know how many because my fighters refused to eat them."
