Syria condemns terrorism in Iraq amid insurgent advances

Syria on Wednesday condemned the "terrorist" acts currently taking place in neighboring Iraq, expressing support for the Iraqi government's counter-terrorism campaign just a day after insurgents overtook a major Iraqi city, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

"We stress that what brotherly Iraq is confronting, is the same foreign-backed terrorism facing Syria," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SANA news agency.

The Syrian ministry urged "all countries to work hard to dry up the terrorism sources."

Syria's government has stressed in the past that regional terrorism is part of a "global conspiracy" targeting the Iraqi and Syrian people and an invasion aimed at targeting the countries' unity and infrastructure.

"Syria while condemning such acts, expresses support and solidarity to the Iraqi government, army and people in the face of terrorism," the ministry said.

A day earlier, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an al-Qaida breakaway group, captured the key Iraqi city of Mosul and the al-Yarobiyeh border point on the Iraqi-Syrian borders.

The ISIL has been fighting the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front over control of Syria's oil-rich eastern region of Deir al-Zour, which borders Iraq. At least 600 people were killed and 130,000 others were displaced since the end of last month as a result of the infighting between the two rival armed groups, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The ISIL hopes to establish an Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria, fighting to capture border towns and cities from both countries to achieve its goal.

As ferocious battles in Deir al-Zour between ISIL and the Nusra Front continue, many of the city's residents have fled to areas in northern Syria, according to a report by the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

The report also highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Deir al-Zour, as observers warned that if the ISIL managed to fully capture Deir al-Zour, it would be easy for them to connect it with Iraq's Anbar region, which is under the ISIL control.

Large swathes of Deir al-Zour have spiraled out of the government control amid fears that the entire province could fall to the ISIL. 
Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
11/6/14
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