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Source: http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/iran-wont-surrender-militias-that-conduct-assads-war#full
Iran Won't Surrender Militias that Conduct Assad's War
(The National-Abu Dhabi) Hassan Hassan - The designation of terror groups in Syria that must be defeated as part of the UN-sponsored political process has been referred to a committee comprising several European and regional countries. There is a preliminary list of more than 160 Sunni and Shia organizations. Iran categorically rejects including any Shia groups in the list since the fate of the Assad regime which it supports is critically tied to the presence of those Shia militias. The Syrian regime controls about 30% of the country and over 50% of the population. According to the defense think tank IHS Jane's, the regime lost 16% of its territory over the past year. Phillip Smyth, from the University of Maryland, says that most of the regime's offensives over the past two years were led by foreign forces. "When we look at Aleppo, the entire offensive there was spearheaded and planned by the Iranians, it was their Shia militia proxy forces which showcased the entire campaign." These foreign forces operate in critical areas and the regime's army or paramilitary National Defense Forces do not appear to be prepared to take their place. The writer is associate fellow at Chatham House's Middle East program.