Syrians warned against aiding armed groups

A member of the Syrian opposition coalition has warned the Syrian community in the Gulf countries against sending money to armed fighters in Syria.

He also appealed to Syrians living abroad to increase humanitarian aid for the Syrian refugees within Syria, who are bracing themselves for the harsh winter ahead.

Thamer Ashlash, a Jeddah-based member of the Syrian opposition coalition, said: “The fighters who are against the Syrian regime still receive personal financial donations from Syrians living abroad. At the same time, there are thousands of Syrian refugees inside Syria in dire need of medical aid, food and warm clothing to guard against the approaching winter.”

“We can’t transfer money to Syria through the banks because the authorities in Syria monitor the currency exchange offices and arrest anyone who receives money from Gulf countries. So we can only depend on Syrians living in Turkey who can enter Syria and personally deliver donations in cash or kind to those who need them urgently,” Ashlash told Arab News.

However, there are some Syrians in Gulf countries who send money to unknown armed organizations that have no clear agenda about the war in Syria, he said, adding that these entities totally depend on external donations.

Opposition forces battling Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria now number around 100,000 fighters, but after more than two years of fighting, they have fragmented into as many as 1,000 groups.

The Turkish government reports that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has exceeded 600,000, and more than 400,000 of them are living outside refugee camps.

The United Nations refugee agency says the number of Syrians who have fled their war-ravaged country has risen to more than 2 million, out of a population of about 22.5 million.