Syrian opposition and the armed factions embarrassing because of the Qatari crisis Saudi Arabia

Syrian opposition and the armed factions embarrassing because of the Qatari crisis Saudi Arabia



BEIRUT (AFP) -

The Gulf crisis has put the Syrian opposition factions in an embarrassing position after the weakened tension growing relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the most prominent sponsors States and Aptaadahma gradually from the ongoing conflict in the country, according to analysts.

Since the start of the movement of protests in Syria in March 2011 after its transformation into an armed conflict, the two countries maintained Alkhalijitan on the political opposition and armed support against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It emerged Gulf support to the Syrian opposition factions fighter, especially Islamic ones during the first years of conflict, but after six years of war, these countries are no longer the same role.

He says the principal investigator at the Carnegie Middle East Center over Sayegh "put the current opposition boycott in an embarrassing position (politically) because no one wants to be part of it publicly and that no one shall abandon any of the" Saudi or Qatari parties.

In a sign of opposition to the confusion resulting from the Gulf crisis, it has rejected several opposition factions continued with Agence France-Presse comment on the topic because of the "sensitivity".

An official in the only opposition faction in the Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, saying "Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and the UAE in support of the revolution of the Syrian people and nations stood with their suffering for years."

"We ask God to be differences summer cloud."

Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off on the fifth of this month, its relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting "terrorism," the Muslim Brotherhood enumerated the Hamas movement and the organization of Daesh and al-Qaeda.

And other countries have taken positions less severe, such as Jordan, which cut diplomatic representation of the country has.

Despite the state of confusion experienced by the opposition factions, Sayigh he sees will be the crisis Gulf limited impact on the Syrian conflict as "decline in Qatari intervention and Saudi Arabia than in the past," adding that Riyadh "largely reduced its funding since 2015 because of its involvement in Yemen."

As there will be probably no significant impact on the financial and political levels, the fact that "the United States and Turkey have strengthened their support for the factions that had previously been close to Qatar or Saudi Arabia."

- "secondary player" -

It supports the opposition factions in Syria several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and even the United States.

In northern Syria, it is backed by Qatar and Turkey's most influential factions such as Ahrar al-Sham extremist movement, overshadowing the eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, the Army of Islam faction backed by the Saudis.

In the south of the country are active factions have received their training from Jordan and the United States.

The editor Sham body, a coalition of militant groups, including the former al-Qaeda, one of the most powerful factions in the opposition controlled areas, and linking relations with Qatar, according to analysts and officials from other factions, but the Doha denies this.

Qatar has the role of mediator in the release of hostages, the majority of operations was the hand of the Front victory.

In addition to field losses suffered, so that opposition factions are no longer with the Levant Liberation Authority controls only 11 percent of Syrian territory, it is witnessing tension between them mounting led to the outbreak of several rounds of internal fighting.

Saudi Qatari tension appeared primarily in the eastern Ghouta, which has seen infighting that killed hundreds of fighters between factions backed by Saudi Arabia and the other supported by Qatar.

Sees a researcher at the University of Oxford, Rafael LeFevre said the impact of the Saudi Qatari tension may be reflected more on the eastern Ghouta being "a small geographical area where the concentrated opposition factions linked directly or indirectly, a two-state Gulf states."

As a result, it may be a crisis between the two countries, "the most bloody results especially that they support the rival factions in the areas already witnessed infighting such as Eastern Ghouta."

But Aalkhbayr in Syrian affairs and professor at the University of Edinburgh Thomas Pierret reduces the impact, as it believes that "alliances (in Eastern Ghouta) determined by the internal balances of more sponsors abroad."

In the Idlib province (northwest) located entirely under the control of the opposition factions, the "suffer free Sham movement to change Qatar's financing policy," according to Pierret, but the movement will remain very important for Turkey, which is today the role of mediator between Doha and Riyadh.

Opposition factions have been since 2015, the year the Russian intervention in Syria, to successive setbacks, most notably the loss of the city of Aleppo in December.

This is also reflected on the political opposition, which has not been able throughout these years of imposing any progress in its favor in the political negotiations.

Sayegh concludes that it is not expected to be a crisis between Riyadh and Doha no effect "as long as all of the opposition turned out to be a secondary player."

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