US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel described as ‘dangerous and complicated’ the setbacks which the foreign-backed opposition in Syria has been witnessing.
US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel described as ‘dangerous and complicated’ the setbacks which the foreign-backed opposition in Syria has been witnessing.
Last week, an extremist opposition group, the so-called “Islamic Front,” seized the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish bor
der and weapons warehouses from the “Free Syrian Army,” which is led by General Selim Idriss, who reportedly fled Syria.
"I think what has occurred here in the last couple of days is a clear reflection on how complicated and dangerous this situation is and how unpredictable it is," Hagel said at a joint press conference with Singapore's defense minister.
"We continue to support General Idriss and the moderate opposition," Hagel said.
"But this is a problem, I mean, what has occurred here, a big problem. And we're going to have to work through it and manage through it with General Idriss and the moderate opposition."
He added that "when the moderate opposition is set back, that's not good."
Asked who was in control of the arms depots, Hagel said: "We're evaluating right now. We're assessing what has happened, where we are."
He said there were "very dangerous elements" in the opposition that "complicates our support" for it.
Delivery of non-lethal assistance would be withheld "until, first of all, we can get a clear assessment of what has happened," Hagel said.
The fractured opposition included Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, he said, adding: "So it's not a matter of just an easy choice between the good guys and the bad guys here."
