George Sabra Named Acting SNC Chief, Accuses Hizbullah of Declaring War on Syrian People
The Syrian National Coalition named veteran dissident George Sabra as caretaker leader of the main opposition grouping on Monday, following the resignation of Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib.
Sabra "was assigned today to carry out the functions of the head of the Coalition until elections for a new president," one of the Coalition's main constituent groups, the Syrian National Council, said in a statement.
The announcement came a day after the widely-respected Khatib submitted his resignation for a second time, officially in protest over the failure of the international community to stop the conflict in Syria, which has killed at least 70,000 people.
Sabra, who until now led the Syrian National Council, will be the Coalition's caretaker leader until at least May 10, when the Coalition is scheduled to meet for leadership elections.
Sabra is a veteran communist opponent of the Damascus regime and one of the most prominent Christian members of the opposition.
He was imprisoned for eight years under the rule of President Bashar Assad's father and predecessor Hafez.
He was subsequently detained after the uprising against Assad began in March 2011, and secretly left Syria in early 2012 to help contribute to the formation of the opposition.
In the first speech after being named caretaker SNC leader, Sabra described Hizbullah's role in fighting in the central province of Homs as a "declaration of war against the Syrian people."
"What is happening in Homs is a declaration of war against the Syrian people and the Arab League should deal with it on this basis," Sabra said.
"The Lebanese president and the Lebanese government should realize the danger that it poses to the lives of Syrians and the future relations between the two peoples and countries," he added.
Sabra accused Hizbullah of "occupying villages in Homs, terrorizing the residents and preventing them from expressing their opinions."
“Hizbullah's fighters are terrorist fundamentalists who have crossed our border and the Lebanese government must deal firmly with them,” he said.
He warned that Syrians “will not be tolerant with any group occupying their land, be it Lebanese or non-Lebanese.”
“We urge our Shiite brothers in Lebanon to call for an end to the killing of their Syrian brothers,” Sabra added.
“Syria belongs to us all and all Muslims are our brothers and only the regime is practicing terrorism,” he said.
His condemnation of the role of the Lebanese group follows reports that elite fighters from the organization were taking the lead in the Syrian regime's battle against rebel fighters in the Qusayr area of Homs.
Hizbullah has announced that it is offering assistance to Lebanese residents of Syrian border towns who are defending themselves against attacks by Syrian rebel groups.
The area, near the Lebanese border, has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days, with regime troops capturing a string of strategic villages in the area and raising rebel concerns that the town of Qusayr, an opposition stronghold, could also fall.
"It's Hizbullah that is leading the battle in Qusayr, with its elite forces," Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told Agence France Presse.
The area is considered strategically important because it lies near the Lebanese border and the highway connecting Damascus to the coast.
President Bashar Assad reportedly told a group of visiting Lebanese politicians at the weekend that the fighting in the area was the "main battle" his forces were waging.
"We want to finish it at any cost," a Lebanese politician at the meeting quoted him as saying.
Source: Agence France Presse
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