Syrian Opposition Says Prisoner Swap 'Exposes Reliance on Iran'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
A prisoner swap of 48 Iranians held hostage by Syrian rebels in exchange for more than 2,000 people detained by Damascus "exposes the extent of the Syrian regime's dependence on Tehran," a main opposition group said on Thursday.
"The Syrian regime is so shameless that it is the only regime in the world that exchanges its own citizens' freedom for the freedom of citizens of foreign states," said the Syrian National Council.
"This victory (the prisoner release) exposes the extent of the Syrian regime's dependence on Tehran," the SNC added.
Forty-eight Iranians held hostage by Syrian rebels for five months arrived in a Damascus hotel on Wednesday after being freed in a prisoner swap for more than 2,139 people held by the regime.
The prisoner exchange was the biggest to take place since Syria's conflict erupted more than 21 months ago.
Several sources, including a rebel spokesman and Iranian officials, said it was arranged through mediation by Turkey and Qatar.
"The Syrians' pride in this great achievement does not make them forget to thank our brothers and friends in Qatar and Turkey for their kind efforts," the SNC statement said.
Iran is a key regional ally of President Bashar Assad's regime.
10 January 2013, 14:07
01
ahh put a sock in it... there is no denying anything in here.. look how much the Syrian "Government" is prepared to do to snuggle up to Iran.. must be in desperate need of money..lol..
what is shameful ya mfawaz is Assad exploiting the Palestinian cause for his own gain (and his fathers before him) all this time.. what is shameful is selling the golan heights to stay in power... what is shameful is taking a generally peaceful uprising at the start and unleashing your dogs the shabiha on them... what is shameful is the poverty the Assads have placed the Syrians in (and may i say that also extends to our Lebanese pieces of trash as well) what is shameful is that ONE person would be willing to destroy his country, incite sectarianism, and kill innocent people for power. What is shameful is YOU as a Lebanese supporting this rodent and rodent senior after what they have done to our country. THAT is shameful.
10 January 2013, 16:06
00
My friend you are so naive that you beleive what you said
look around you, the 3 biggest Arab countries are destroyed militaraly and financially, Egypt, Iraq and Syria.
You think the Gulf states aren.t doing the leg work for the west and Isreal, you are naive
You think if Qatar and S. Arabia didn.t finance this so called revolution they would have succeeded.
You think all those fighter are from Syria again you are naive
As aSyrian citizenliving abroad, the only solution is to sit down and plan Syria future with new blood
