Free Syrian Army commander forms military council

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat- As members of the Free Syrian Army attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus on Wednesday, the first such reported assault on a major security facility in the eight-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, a dissident Syrian officer has confirmed to Asharq al-Awsat that an interim military council has been formed by the renegade group’s commander, Colonel Riyad al-Asad.

Al-Asad announced his defection from the Syrian army on July 4th 2011, approximately four months after the start of the Syrian revolution, and later announced on the 29th of July that he had founded the Free Syrian Army which he would be presiding over.

The dissident officer speaking to Asharq al-Awsat pointed out that the declaration of the military council came after the Arab League’s decision to suspend Syria’s membership, highlighting that from that decision until today more than 5,000 troops have joined the ranks of the Free Syrian Army, which now exceeds 20,000 in total. The officer confirmed that two days ago Colonel al-Asad had returned to Syria, where he will direct military operations on the ground. With regards to the weaponry to be used in the operations, the officer pointed out that the supplies which the dissidents have managed to smuggle with them are limited, and they are all light weaponry such as machine guns, “RPGs” and “Kalashnikov” rifles.

Regarding the opinion of the Syrian National Council towards the announcement of a military council, and whether there has been any coordination with it in this respect, a member of the [National] Council, Dr. Louay Safi, confirmed to Asharq al-Awsat that “several meetings took place between Colonel al-Asad and members of the National Council, and we were aware of this [military] step. However, a fundamental disagreement remains over the principle of militarizing the revolution, which the the Free Syrian Army and the military council advocate, or maintaining peace, which the National Council is committed to. There is also the need to ascertain the presence of an organized military leadership and the commitment of those leaders to the political perception of the revolution”. Dr. Safi also pointed out that the National Council does not completely reject the militarization of the revolution, but the revolution should go in accordance with the course of events and the political situation. However, at this moment Dr. Safi indicated that the National Council was insistent upon peaceful marches to overthrow the regime, whilst relying on regional powers and the international and Arab community.

The official webpage of the military council has published a statement signed on behalf of its commander, Colonel Riyad al-Asad. This confirms the declaration of the military council, which includes in addition to al-Asad nine other members ranked as colonels. As for the objectives of the military council, they have been defined in a statement of 24 articles, the most important of which are to overthrow the current regime in Syria, to protect the Syrian citizens, to preserve public and private property, to prevent chaos after the fall of the regime, and to stand up to any form of retaliation. The council shall undertake the task of counting the recruits, organizing them and the places to station them, arming, equipping and training them, and issuing decisions relating to armed forces. Likewise, the military council will exercise the functions of an amnesty committee, seeking to override all judgments and sentences undertaken by military and civilian courts concerning the events of the Syrian revolution since its outbreak. The military council’s headquarters will be in Damascus, but it will be able to use any other location if necessary, and it will also adopt the same flag chosen by the Syrian National Council.

The military council has been granted the right to contact foreign governments, organizations or individuals, or military entities within Syrian territory or abroad. It has also announced the formation of a military tribunal for the revolution, in order to hold accountable members of the regime who are proven to have been involved in killings or attacks on Syrian citizens, or the destruction of public or private property. Colonel Riyad al-Asad has appointed a judge for this purpose, and military court provisions will be applied to the tribunal.