Qaanitah Hunter – Cii News| September 25, 2012

Syrian President Bashar al Assad is willing to kill every Syrian citizen as
long as he stays in power, Syrian human rights activists Iyaas Maleh has said.

He said the reason why the revolution has been prolonged over such a long period is due
to the fact that the ruthless regime is not giving up easily.

The revolution which started as a peaceful protest is already in its 19th month
of conflict.

“He (Assad) said either him or destruction- he is trying to destroy the
country,” Maleh said.

The death toll is currently at 60 000 with 2 million civilians homeless within and outside Syria.

Maleh noted that Syrians have now reached breaking point and are willing to
sacrifice their lives in the spirit of denouncing the Assad regime.

“Syrians are sick and tired of the regime killing people for the last 45
years,” the activist said.

He said that although protestors started the revolution by peaceful
demonstrations, the regime killed people since the first day.

“Eventually people decided that this man is killing us they started to carry
arms and buy weapons.”

Maleh noted that the people do not want destruction but they refuse to live
under the Assad regime any longer.

“If they put their arms down, this regime will not let anyone who made their
voices heard live,” he said.

Maleh said the massacres and tortures are remnants of Assad’s father, Haafiz
al Assad who was responsible for the Hama massacre in the 80′s which saw the
deaths of about 47 000 people.

But the difference, he said, is that people are more aware of the oppression under
Assad’s regime due to the availability of the internet and modern
technology.

He reiterated that the only effective protest at this point in the conflict
is an armed protest.

Meanwhile UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has told the UN Security
Council that the Syrian civil war is worsening and the country faces a
growing food crisis.

Brahimi briefed the 15-nation council on Monday that the Syrian government
estimates there are 5,000 foreign fighters in the country and is
increasingly portraying the conflict as a “foreign conspiracy,” delegates at
the closed meeting said.

qaanitah@ciibroadcasting.com