REPORT: New front opens in Syria as rebels say al-Qaeda attack means war
The
assassination of a top Free Syrian Army commander by militants linked
to al-Qaeda is tantamount to a declaration of war, FSA rebels said on
Friday, opening a new front between Western-backed forces and Islamists
in Syria's civil war.
The announcement is the latest sign of
disarray in the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,
who has regained the upper hand more than two years into an insurgency
that grew out of Arab Spring-inspired pro-democracy protests.
It
follows growing rivalries between the FSA and the Islamists, who have
sometimes joined forces on the battlefield, and coincides with attempts
by the Western and Arab-backed FSA to allay fears any U.S.-supplied arms
might reach al Qaeda.
Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition bloc said
"elements in the U.S. Congress" have been delaying the Obama
administration's efforts to step up support for rebel forces.
President
Barack Obama recently said the U.S. is willing to send weapons to the
opposition. Even so, Washington has been reluctant to arm the rebels
battling the army of President Bashar Assad because radical Islamic
groups, including some with al-Qaeda links, have emerged as their most
effective fighting force.
The Western-backed Syrian National
Coalition urged Congress to back arms deliveries to the rebels as
Assad's regime intensifies attacks. It said it's "deeply concerned by
reports indicating that elements of the U.S. Congress" are delaying
weapons.
On another note, the United States slammed Syria and
Iran for seeking seats on the U.N.'s Human Rights Council, saying their
own rights violations are under U.N. investigation.
Syria remains
a candidate to join the 47-nation council, along with other
often-criticized nations such as Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Vietnam
and Russia.
Syria is embroiled in a brutal civil war, with human
rights groups blaming both President Bashar Assad's government and
rebels for abuses. Iran, a key Syrian ally, is criticized for jailing
political prisoners and executing drug offenders.
For her part,
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Rosemary DiCarlo told reporters that
"attempts by either country to join the Human Rights Council are highly
inappropriate given existing Human Rights Council mandates to
investigate human rights violations in these countries, their egregious
records on human rights and their ongoing collaboration to suppress the
democratic aspirations of the Syrian people."
In turn, a
spokesman for Iran's U.N. Mission, Alireza Miryousefi, confirmed late
Thursday that Iran had withdrawn its candidacy back in February. The 193-member U.N. General Assembly will vote in November to elect 14 nations to three-year terms on the council.
Regional groups within the General Assembly hold caucuses to select their preferred candidates.
Save The Children:
More
than a fifth of Syria's schools have been destroyed or made unusable in
more than two years of conflict, jeopardizing the education of 2.5
million young people, Save The Children aid agency reported on Friday.
The
civil war in Syria has contributed to a sharp increase over the past
year in the number of violent incidents affecting children's education
reported worldwide, the agency said.
More than 70 percent of
3,600 such incidents in 2012 occurred in Syria, where school buildings
were shelled, teachers attacked and children recruited into armed
groups, it added.Save The Children said an estimated 3,900 schools in Syria had been destroyed or put out of action by January 2013.
"But
more recent estimates in April show a very rapid increase in this
number, with 22 percent of the country's 22,000 schools rendered
unusable," it said.
AP/REUTERS
To watch the full LBCI report, please click on the video above.