Ahrar ash-Sham Movement, one of the Syria’s largest armed opposition groups, issued a statement in clarifying a number of points concerning its political and military allegiances.
The movement “is a Syrian Islamic faction founded by Syrian people to defend them and their interests and identity,” it said, adding: “the movement expresses these points in its charter and its practices."
The statement noted "the movement’s leaders are all Syrian, and has no organizational links with any third parties, including Al-Qaeda."
"The movement’s military and political program seeks to empower the Syrian people to determine their fate in accordance with their Islamic history, and identity and their social fabric through a transparent political process that achieves the objectives of the revolution.
The revolution’s primary goal is to overthrow the regime with all its symbols and pillars, and it considers all state institutions as property of the Syrian people," the statement added.
The movement criticized the position of the international community, which has failed to punish the Assad regime, Iran and Hezbollah for their actions against the Syrian people throughout five years of revolution.
The statement acknowledged the efforts of Turkey and Qatar for supporting the revolution and helping to alleviate the suffering of Syrian people.
The movement began its activity as a small faction with no more than 30 fighters, expanding over recent years to include around 16,000 fighters, distributed throughout a number of brigades and battalions under a central command.
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
