Syria's Neighbours
"Syria is full of honourable officials and military leaders who are waiting for the chance to join the revolution. I urge the army to follow the example of Egypt's and Tunisia's armies - take the side of the people." Riad Hijab, former Syrian prime minister"I was powerless to stop the injustice", Mr. Hijab said, in front of the rebel flag. "The regime is on the verge of collapse morally and economically in addition to cracks in the military", he said, speaking from Amman, Jordan. And the "pain in his soul" torments him, but it took over a year and a half to make enough of an impact on his conscience before he left the regime.
But as the highest ranking official yet to defect, he can be influential in salving his conscience and urging others to do the same. Not part of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, it's debatable how much more relevant he was as a symbol used by the Alawite regime to 'prove' that they were not averse to giving Sunni Muslim Syrians positions of authority. But not power.
Mr. Hijab's clan originated from the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the very place where rebels from the Free Syrian Army were jubilant at shooting down an army MiG-23 warplane, and beating and goading its pilot into disclaiming allegiance to the regime, meekly urging his fellow pilots to do as he has done; swing over to the opposition.
Border skirmishes in the past little while have threatened to engulf countries neighbouring Syria. Iran's Republican Guard and Hezbollah have both involved Iran and Lebanon; one by intention, the other through unwilling inadvertence. The 24 Iranians being held by the Free Syrian Army rebels represent a tip of the iceberg. Clan clashes and sectarian violence has spread to Lebanon, where abductions of Sunnis by Shia and the reverse are heating up the atmosphere.
Labels: Conflict, Hezbollah, Iran, Lebanon, Political Realities, Security, Societal Failures, Syria, Turkey
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