Who is riad al assad

Col Asaad, a former air force engineer, was one of the first senior Syrian military officers to defect in July and was instrumental in setting up the Free Syrian Army a month later in Turkey.

Under his leadership, the FSA functioned as an umbrella group for army defectors, civilians who had taken up arms, and Islamist militants. Fighters had only limited contact with each other or the commanders. As the rebellion progressed, Col Asaad was largely sidelined by the establishment of more formal command structures. He announced in September that he was moving his headquarters into Syria, in preparation for "liberating Damascus".

In December, more than leaders of the main FSA units from across Syria agreed at a meeting in Antalya to a unified command structure. Col Asaad said he had not been invited to the meeting by the foreign powers that organised it, adding: "They want people who obey orders. He nevertheless remained a prominent figure in the armed uprising, regularly appearing with rebel fighters on the ground in Syria. Moaz al-Khatib said the wounding of Col Asaad was "part of an attempt to assassinate the free leaders of Syria".

Hitto received 35 out of 48 votes cast by the 63 active members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition last week. The power and influence wielded even by Gen. Idris on the ground in Syria is debatable. While his Military Council does boasts regional branches in Syria's most embattled cities, it represents only one fraction of the armed men fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

Far more aggressive -- and effective -- in the fight against President Assad's army have been the Islamic extremist militias, operating under the banner of groups like Ansar al Nusra, which the U. These militias or brigades share the goal of regime change, but also have aspirations more akin to those of al Qaeda than the Western-backed Military Council -- and it is these groups which are viewed by many on the ground as leading the charge against Assad, not Gen.

Idris' and his Military Council. Please enter email address to continue. Please enter valid email address to continue. Chrome Safari Continue. Those who are being killed — they are our sisters and brothers. AM: No-one could reach you in Apaydin Camp. The soldiers could not reach you, the media like me could not reach you. You were remote, far away… When I talked to fighters inside Syria they said: Riad al Assad — he means nothing to us.

Your isolation damaged you as a leader terribly. I told you in the beginning we had continuous contact with them. The brigades came and saw me. But in the last period — yes. People were forbidden from even visiting me. And there is daily communication on Skype, on cell phones. There is a shortfall in weapons supplies.

AM: Do you share the same concerns as Europe and America — that if weapons come into Syria now there is a danger that they could fall into the hands of extremists and then end up anywhere, endangering future security of the region? RA: Sure… We talked about this from the start. New groups appeared. Many countries are afraid of these groups, and we are as well….

AM: So what do Europe and America need to do? Tell me, because this will tell them. Do they need to act, or still hold back? What needs to be done for Syria? If support is directed properly to the FSA, we can manage to control the situation, and organise the work fast. We can do it. Do they have direct lines of communication to you? Do they listen to you? Do they ask for your advice? RA: No, there are no direct contacts with them. No-one responds to us. We warned them a lot, we spoke to them a lot.

AM: How do you see the next few weeks and months developing? Do you have a picture of how things are going? RA: We have decided to carry out a battle of liberation. In the next few days you will see operations that please the Syrian people, and will shock the world that has been standing against us.

Maybe not wholly onto power, but partly. Is this possible? Even his forces are really in a desperate situation. The biggest evidence for this, is the number soldiers and officers who have run away in the last couple of days.

Published On 13 Oct AM: Is it close or not? AM: I thought the Turkish army was keeping the Syrian airforce away? AM: Is it a marriage or a divorce?

Are you marrying or divorcing? On foreign fighters AM: Do you share the same concerns as Europe and America — that if weapons come into Syria now there is a danger that they could fall into the hands of extremists and then end up anywhere, endangering future security of the region? Many countries are afraid of these groups, and we are as well… AM: So what do Europe and America need to do?