Damascus attack signals Syrian rebel desperation

Neil Clark is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger. 

30 Apr, 2013 13:57 / Updated 11 years ago

The US, UK and EU are backing terrorists by supporting the rebel forces in Syria and the blood of those who perished in recent Damascus attacks is on the hands of the Western governments, Neil Clark, a British journalist, told RT.

A car bomb went off near the former Interior Ministry building in the center of Syrian capital, Damascus, on Tuesday. According to the reports, at least 13 people were killed and around 70 injured in the explosion.  

The attack comes a day after Syrian Prime Minister Wael Halqi survived an attempted bombing assassination in central Damascus.

Clark believes the Syrian rebels are set on terrifying the population in the capital as they realize that they don’t have majority support from the Syrian public.

“I think it’s absolutely appalling, what’s going on at the moment. I mean yesterday we had the convoy attack; we had the firing on the Russian passenger plane. And what this really shows is that so-called rebels are getting more and more desperate. They don’t have overwhelming public support. They don’t have majority support, so they’re getting more and more violent and more and more wild. And I think this sort of sums up how desperate their possession is really.”


He said he’s embarrassed that the terrorists operating in Syria are supported by the Western governments, including his home country of the UK.

“And it’s absolutely shameful that these people are being backed by my country – the UK, by France, by the Western powers. These are terrorist attacks, let’s call them what they are. They haven’t been condemned by [UK’s Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State] William Hague or [French President] Francois Hollande or [US Secretary of State] John Kerry. I think that’s absolutely appalling because if these had taken place in Tel Aviv or Riyadh or anywhere else in the country, which is a Western ally, then they would be roundly condemned, but they’re not. And it’s quite appalling that these so called rebels – with Western help – are trying to bomb their way to power in Syria, killing innocent civilians, spreading terror among the population. And I think that the likes of William Hague have blood on their hands, I’m afraid.”

Clark has claimed the attempts to put the blame for the Tuesday’s car blast on the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad have no grounds.

“It’s quite absurd to think that the Syrian government would be blowing up members of the government itself and putting bombs in crowded areas because why would it want to do so? It’s quite clear what’s going on in Al-Qaeda has dominated the uprising in Syria, a minority uprising by radical Islamists. And it’s interesting, isn’t it, that if you were to say that the Syrian government is behind these bombings in the Western media than it’s fine and acceptable, but if, of course, you’ll say that the US government is behind the 9/11 attacks, you’ll be denounced as a crank conspiracy theorist.”

Clark added that those who support the Syrian rebels in the west and the Middle East should share responsibility for the crimes they commit.   

“These blasts cost money – the bombing, the guns the weaponry, etc. We already have the emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, boasting a few days ago, saying how his government was going to give the rebels any help they needed, including the arms. The British government has been sending money in to the rebels. And so I think the people who are funding these terrorists have got responsibilities. They’ve got blood on their hands. They’re not even condemning it.”