|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-1.693988
Russia Seeks to Dictate Who Will Run Syria
(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - The Army of Islam numbers over 20,000 soldiers with 26 branches around Syria. In 2014 it merged into the Islamic Front, which represents most of the Islamic militias that are fighting to remove the Assad regime. Despite its radical religious agenda, the Army of Islam is considered one of the "moderate Islamist" groups with which the U.S. is willing to cooperate. Russia, in contrast to the position of the Obama administration, does not make any distinctions between the moderate Islamic groups and those considered to be more extreme. To Russia, the only legitimate rebel groups are the Free Syrian Army and the Kurdish militias, which it assists by providing arms and intelligence. Saudi Arabia and Turkey support the Army of Islam.