Date : 12/04/2013
WASHINGTON, April 11 (KUNA) -- The United States and international allies
need to aid Syria's opposition coalition as it faces a "crucial leadership
juncture" and counter rising extremism inside embattled Syria., U.S.
Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford said late Thursday.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing alongside, Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Beth Jones and Assistant Secretary
of Treasury Daniel Glaser, Ambassador Ford told lawmakers that U.S.-backed
opposition groups in Syria are "the best opportunity we have to isolate
extremists."
"There is absolutely an extremist problem in Syria, and it is incumbent on
the Syrian opposition coalition and the supreme Syrian military council to
isolate those extremists.
"I don't think it will be easy to isolate those extremists but there is an
opportunity to contain the sectarian divisions with the outreach from both the
political opposition as well as the Syrian supreme military command," Ford
said.
He stressed the visions of a future Syria outlined by the U.S.-backed
opposition stresses equality, inclusiveness and religious and ethnic
tolerance.
The testimony comes a day after al-Qaeda in Iraq announced it was joining
forces with extremist's elements across the border in Syria.
March was the deadliest month of the two-year conflict with over 6,000
Syrians killed and more than 70,000 civilian fatalities since the conflict
began, according to the latest estimates.
More than four million people have been internally displaced and more than
1.2 million Syrian refugees. According to U.S. officials, these figures could
triple within the year.
State department officials affirmed the U.S. is working to aid the
displaced, offering more than USD 385 million in assistance to displace
populations within Syria and across the region. (end)
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