The commander of the Syrian Rebel Front, Jamal Maarouf, says that he and the President of the Syrian National Coalition, Ahmed Jarba, are fighting terrorists.
In a statement in response to an article published in the Independent newspaper on his position towards Al-Qaeda, Maarouf said that he is "very disappointed that a long and comprehensive conversation with a journalist I gave my time and my attention ended up with a misleading headline."
"I want to be clear here: I am against Al-Qaeda and all the extremist formulations."
Maarouf said that the published article summarizes his position as avoiding the fight against Al-Qaeda, "which is against the reality on the ground and against every statement I submitted to other media sources. The Front of Syrian Rebels and the Free Syrian Army as a whole does not share weapons or ammunition with terrorists under any circumstances."
"There is no doubt that I explained the position of the Front of Syrian Rebels which fights against Assad's army and the terrorists who serve the interests of the regime only. This was published just a few weeks ago in other interviews and nothing has changed in the weeks that followed those statements," Maarouf added.
Maarouf said that "Al-Qaeda and its factions advertised in video clips that the Free Syrian Army and the Syrian National Coalition are their enemies. Ahmad Jarba and I were named as their enemies. We're at war with these terrorists."
Maarouf concluded by saying that "Our struggle is first and foremost against the Assad regime, and this is obvious, but also against any extremist group trying to impose any ideology on the Syrian people alien to the revolution."
Translated and edited by The Syrian Observer
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