Many of So-called “Syrian Opposition Coalition” Members are Corrupt

Leader of the prominent al-Baqara tribe in Syria Sheikh Nawwaf al-Bashir, unveiled Wednesday that the so-called “opposition” figure Riad Hjab had received $47 million from Qatar and gave the amount to the UN-blacklisted Jabhat al-Nusra in order to launch a major attack on Aleppo.

Al-Bashir told the Beirut-based al-Mayadeen television channel that there is so much corruption among the ranks of the “opposition” staying in Turkey.

“A former head of the coalition stole $ 116 million and went to an Arab country where he formed a party. Another opposition coalition figure embezzled $ 18 million and went to Britain where he obtained British citizenship,” the tribal leader asserted.

 Besides, no one has so far get information about where an amount of $51 million has gone, al-Bashir added.

“The aid, which come for the Syrian people, go to the funds of the [Muslim Brotherhood Movement],” al-Bashir said, describing the movement as ‘the greatest danger’ because its members promote themselves as moderates, keep storing weapons, get their forces ready for the battle and think only about power.

According to al-Bashir, Qatar and Saudi Arabia fund war on Syria in order to destroy it in implementation of foreign agendas. He pointed out that a lot of “opposition” figures visited ‘Israel’ and they thought they were ‘heroes’.

The tribal leader indicated that the so-called “opposition” figure Nazir al-Hakim forged passports for Syrians with the approval of a European country. These forged passports helped many people including ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra affiliates enter Europe. Revenues of passport forgery processes reached up to $400 million.”

However, Sheikh al-Bashir said: “We are working now to mobilize tribesmen to fight alongside the Syrian Arab army in order to liberate Syria from terrorism and to prevent its fragmentation .. Our brave army has carried out heroic operations in Deir Ezzour Province over the past four days.”

“99% of al-Baqara tribesmen are with the Syrian state,” he concluded.

Last Tuesday, Sheikh al-Bashir announced his return to Syria willingly. He  was one of the founders of ‘Damascus Declaration’ in 2005 and he joined opposition in 2011. 

Basma Qaddour