Syrian opposition chief: US sanctions a deterrent for Turkish proxy fighters
During an interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian National Coalition President Salem al-Meslet discussed recent US sanctions on Ahrar al-Sharqiya, the human rights situation in northern Syria and the US military presence in the war-torn country.
The head of the exiled Syrian opposition acknowledges human rights violations committed by Turkish-backed fighters in northern Syria but says recent US sanctions have helped rein in the lawless proxy groups.
Salem al-Meslet, president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (commonly known as the Syrian National Coalition), said he would support further investigation of the well-documented abuses carried out by Syrian rebel factions affiliated with his coalition.
“The coalition and the interim government really support any effort to eliminate any violations, to come and investigate,” Meslet told Al-Monitor in an interview in Washington.
He and a delegation of opposition figures met with US policymakers last week in hopes of persuading the Biden administration they still have a role to play in determining Syria’s future, after a decade of ruinous civil war between President Bashar al-Assad and the forces seeking his removal.
