Syrians will defeat terrorism by themselves: Official
A Syrian minister has warned against undermining the efforts to bring about reconciliation among the country’s conflicting sides, reiterating that Syrians will “defeat” the terrorism that has plagued their country on their own, Press TV reports.
“The Syrians will defeat terrorism through their own efforts,” Minister of National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar said on Monday, underlining the significance of reconciliation committees for working out a peaceful solution to the crisis in the war-torn country.
The minister was hosting an annual meeting titled “Popular Reconciliations Boost Counter-Terrorism and National Dialogue” in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Haidar also called on the members of the committees to beware of those entities that seek to portray popular reconciliation efforts as a failure, adding that national reconciliation is the underlying foundation to combat terrorism and enhance national dialogue.
“Local reconciliations are in the middle of the road which starts with fighting terrorism and ends with national dialogue,” Haidar said.
The remarks came just days after Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari, who is also the head of the Syrian delegation to Russian-brokered peace talks in Moscow, described the talks between the Syrian government and the domestic Syrian opposition as positive.
Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fuelled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to reports. New figures show that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year.
Over 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced due to the ongoing crisis, according to the United Nations.
