Opposition Chief Warns Arabs Not to Give Asylum to Syrian President
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Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images(DAMASCUS, Syria) — Assuming rebels are ultimately successful in toppling the current Syrian regime, the head of opposition forces said on Saturday that Arab governments must turn back any effort by President Bashar al-Assad to escape punishment in their countries.
Abdel Basset Sayda, chief of the Syrian National Council, warned that if al-Assad were granted asylum, it would become extremely difficult to prosecute him for war crimes.
Addressing a group of Arab diplomats in Abu Dhabi, Sayda stressed, “There are massacres being committed. We believe Bashar al-Assad should be tried. He is a criminal and should not be given a shelter.”
In fact, the SNC leader said that al-Assad is plotting to commit massacres in the country’s largest city of Aleppo, which could figure as the decisive battle in the war.
Sayda implored Arab countries for help, claiming rebel forces need approximately $145 million a month as well as weapons to fight Syrian tanks and planes.
As for who would take over temporarily if al-Assad is deposed, Sayda said the new leader must be an “honest and patriotic person…committed to the objectives of the Syrian revolution since its beginning.”
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