Iran criticizes militant supporters for Syria unrest

Iran criticizes militant supporters for Syria unrest
Sun Jun 23, 2013 22:20:12

Iranian deputy foreign minister has charged those who support arming Syrian terrorists for massacre of civilians in Syria.

“The parties that support sending weapons to [militants in] Syria are responsible for the massacre of innocent people and insecurity in the region,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Sunday.

He made the remarks in reaction to a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria group in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Saturday to discuss arming Takfiri militants fighting against the Syrian government.

At the end of the Doha talks, foreign ministers of the anti-Damascus alliance agreed to “provide urgently all the necessary materiel and equipment” to the extremist armed groups in Syria.

“Syria has successfully passed through the crisis stage and the a few terrorists and irresponsible armed groups remaining in the country have been grounded, but some foreign parties, by encouraging the transfer of weapons to this country and supporting terrorist activities, are pursuing certain objectives,” Amir-Abdollahian added.

He further criticized the US stance on arming the militants in Syria, saying that, “Washington, instead of sending weapons, must support an end to violence and national dialogue in Syria so that Syrians can decide their fate.”

The Doha meeting was held several days after the Syrian army regained full control of the strategic town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border, on June 5, following three weeks of heavy fighting with militants.

Syrian forces have also dealt heavy blows to Takfiris in the northwestern city of Aleppo over the past days.

Addressing the anti-Syria meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Takfiri militants need further support “to be able to address the imbalance on the ground.”

On June 14, US President Barack Obama ordered his administration to provide the militants in Syria with weapons, which include assault rifles, shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenades and antitank missiles. Russia and the UN have criticized the move by Washington.

Syria crisis started as pro-reform protests but with interventions from the United States, UK and its regional allies it soon turned to a massive insurgency which took in numerous terrorist groups from all over Europe and Middle East to wage one of the bloodiest wars the region has ever experienced.

The war, which many fear is turning to a “war of hatred”, has already taken more than 100,000 lives.

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