torsdag 26 juli 2012

Fria Syriska Arméns fördrivna.

Det finns anledning att också idag göra ett litet nedslag bland de så kallade "frihetskämparna" i Syrien. Nu rapporterar Spiegel online om vad som händer landets kristna minoritet (vilket förvisso inte är en nyhet, men ett ämne som förtjänar uppmärksamhet). Dessa människor flyr inte till Libanon av skräck för regimens trupper, utan för att de förföljs av "Fria Syriska Armén". Så här skriver tidningen:

"With fighting ongoing, however, the rebels have also committed excesses. And some factions within the patchwork of disparate groups that together comprise the Free Syrian Army have radicalized at a very rapid clip in recent months. A few are even being influenced by foreign jihadists who have traveled to Syria to advise them. That, at least, is what witnesses on the ground are reporting in Qusayr, where fierce fighting has raged for months. Control of the town has passed back and forth between the two sides, at times falling into the hands of the regime and at others of the rebels. Currently, fighters with the Free Syrian Army have the upper hand, and they have also made the city of 40,000 residents a place where the country's Christian minority no longer feels safe."

Och lite längre fram i texten, där vi också får veta hur svårt det kan vara också i Libanon, därför att FSA:s familjemedlemmar finns där. Det handlar inte sällan om fysiska sammandrabbningar mellan de två grupperna:


"Thirty-two Christian families have found shelter and asylum in Qa, which is located only 12 kilometers away from the Syrian border. Although the city is also Christian and looks out for those who have fled the rebels for this reason, the Khouris and their fellow victims nevertheless live in a state of constant fear. For one, they can hear the muffled hum of artillery being fired in nearby Syria. The sound travels well beyond the border and serves as a constant reminder of what is happening in their country. On the day of the interview, a column of smoke could be seen rising above the next mountain range. A day earlier, a shell hit a gas station on the Syrian side of the border and it had been smouldering ever since. Four weeks ago, the Khouris learned that their home in Qusayr had been completely destroyed after being struck by a rocket. But the family's greatest fear is that of their own Syrian compatriots. As a border town, Qa is a magnet for two types of refugees, says Mansour Saad. "On the one hand, you have the Christians who are fleeing from the rebels," he says. "And then you have the refugee families of men who are fighting within the ranks of the FSA." The two enemy groups sometimes clash in Lebanese exile. "There is a lot of tension between them," says Saad. "We do our best to keep the two groups apart."

Slutorden, från en libanesisk borgmästare, förtjänar att citeras:

"...the insurgency has since been hijacked by Islamists, the mayor argues. "And we know the types of Muslims who have emerged at the head of the rebellion: The ones who would like to lead the people back into the Stone Age."