In Photos : Running with the Wolves of Syria

/in-photos-running-with-the-wolves-of-sy

  • Jamal Maarouf : « l’Armée syrienne libre est sous la coupe d’Al-Nosra »
    http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2016/03/15/jamal-ma-arouf-l-armee-syrienne-libre-est-sous-la-coupe-d-al-nosra_4883276_3

    Au sein de l’opposition syrienne, le nom de Jamal Maarouf suscite des commentaires diamétralement opposés. Certains sont reconnaissants à cet ex-ouvrier du bâtiment, qui commanda le Front des révolutionnaires syriens (FRS), une brigade rebelle modérée, d’avoir été le principal artisan de « la deuxième révolution syrienne », à savoir l’expulsion des djihadistes de l’Etat islamique (EI) des provinces d’Idlib, de Hama et de la ville d’Alep, en janvier 2014.
    En savoir plus sur http://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2016/03/15/jamal-ma-arouf-l-armee-syrienne-libre-est-sous-la-coupe-d-al-nosra_4883276_3

    • Bon, ceci dit quiconque a suivi la chronologie des choses sait que Jamal Maarouf est un vil escroc,

      http://seenthis.net/messages/237151#message243841

      https://news.vice.com/article/in-photos-running-with-the-wolves-of-syria

      Led by the controversial commander Jamal Maarouf, the SRF’s brigades had long won a poor reputation among Syrian civilians for looting, extortion and banditry, so much so that ISIS were initially welcomed by many Syrians for the effective, if brutal order they established.

    • barthes dit bien qu’il est suspecté d’exactions, dans son intro. L’interview est utile, en ce sens que son Front de révolutionnaire de syrie, même si écroulé dans pas mal de régions, est très actif dans le sud et dans la région du Golan.

    • @assalam12 : oui, sauf que Barthe rapporte les propos de Maarouf qui se plaint de ce que les USA n’ont pas vraiment combattu al-Nousra mais il oublie tout de même de rappeler que le même Maarouf déclarait à The Independent en 2014 qu’al-Nousra « n’était pas son problème ». Il admettait même combattre aux côtés d’al-Nousra : http://seenthis.net/messages/244053
      L’article en question a disparu du site de The Independent mais l’on en trouve la reproduction un peu partout sur le Net :
      http://www.handsoffsyriasydney.com/articles/i-am-not-fighting-against-al-qaida-its-not-our-problem-says-wests-last-hope-in-syria/?print=pdf

      Speaking from a safe house on the outskirts of the Turkish
      town of Antakya, Jamal Maarouf, the leader of the Syrian
      Revolutionary Front (SRF) told The Independent that the fight against al-Qa’ida was “not our problem” and admitted his fighters conduct joint operations with Jabhat al-Nusra – the official al-Qa’ida branch in Syria.
      [...]
      But while Maarouf and his men were happy to fight Isis, a
      group of predominantly foreigners, he said he would not go
      after Jabhat al-Nusra. “It’s clear that I’m not fighting
      against al-Qa’ida. This is a problem outside of Syria’s
      border, so it’s not our problem. I don’t have a problem with
      anyone who fights against the regime inside Syria,” he said.
      Maarouf admits to fighting alongside Jabhat al-Nusra
      – one example being the offensive against Isis, whose brutal tactics were deemed too violent even for al-Qa’ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

      Et dans le même article Maarouf admettait, cerise sur le gâteau, partager les armes qu’il recevait avec al-Nousra dans les cas d’opérations conjointes, à la demande de ses « soutiens » :

      While Maarouf maintains that their military supplies are too few to share, he cites the battle of Yabroud, against the regime, as an example of how his group shared weapons with Jabhat al-Nusra.
      “If the people who support us tell us to send weapons to another group, we send them. They asked us a month ago to send weapons to Yabroud so we sent a lot of weapons there. When they asked us to do this, we do it.”

      Ces remarques n’enlèvent rien au fait que c’est déjà un petit évènement que de voir enfin admis dans Le Monde ce que tout le monde sait depuis bien longtemps - et la DIA américaine au moins depuis 2012...

  • Y’en a qui se sont fait briefer : Syria Islamists Pledge ’State of Law, Freedom, Justice’
    http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/131023-syria-islamists-pledge-state-of-law-freedom-justice

    Syria’s biggest Islamist rebel groups promised Saturday “a state of law, freedom and justice,” just months after the largest among them had flatly rejected democratic principles.

    “The Syrian revolution is committed to the respect of human rights that are also encouraged by our religion,” said the covenant, which all but revoked a November denunciation of democracy by the Islamic Front, which had also called for the establishment of an Islamic state.

    “The Syrian revolution is a revolution based on morals and values with the objective of achieving freedom, justice and security (for) the entire Syrian society, with its diverse multi-ethnic and multi-sectarian social fabric,” added the statement, posted by the Islamic Front on Twitter.

    • D’autres rebelles soudainement attachés à la loi et à l’ordre : In Photos : Running with the Wolves of Syria
      https://news.vice.com/article/in-photos-running-with-the-wolves-of-syria

      Led by the controversial commander Jamal Maarouf, the SRF’s brigades had long won a poor reputation among Syrian civilians for looting, extortion and banditry, so much so that ISIS were initially welcomed by many Syrians for the effective, if brutal order they established.

      Now SRF brigades are keen to emphasize their commitment to law and order, in an attempt to win back hearts and minds.

      While we were there, we witnessed SRF commanders disciplining their own men for robbing civilians at one of the many checkpoints that line their rural stronghold.