UN: U.N. says no conclusive evidence of al Qaeda link to Syria attacks.

Record ID: 280847

  • Title: UN: U.N. says no conclusive evidence of al Qaeda link to Syria attacks.
  • Date: 19th May 2012
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (MAY 10, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE SURROUNDING U.N. MONITORS AND CHANTING SLOGANS IN SUPPORT OF SYRIAN PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ZQRUVW9A01TGJXHFT359NZL
  • Story Text: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday (May 17) he believed al Qaeda was responsible for two suicide car bombs that killed at least 55 people in Syria a week ago and that the death toll in the country's 14-month conflict was now at least 10,000.
    "A few days ago there was a huge, serious, massive terrorist attack. I believe that there must be al Qaeda behind it. This has created again very serious problems," Ban told a youth event at U.N. headquarters in New York.
    Two suicide car bombers killed 55 people and wounded 372 in Damascus on May 10, state media said, the deadliest attacks in the Syrian capital since an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.
    There are 257 unarmed U.N. monitors in Syria to observe an unraveling five-week-old truce brokered by U.N.-Arab League peace envoy Kofi Annan. Ban pointed out that there had been two attacks against the monitors recently.
    "The deployment of monitors has some dampening effect, the number of violences has reduced but not enough, not all the violences have stopped," Ban said. "We are trying our best efforts to protect the civilian population."
    But on Friday (May 18), in response to questions from reporters, the spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General clarified that the world body did not have conclusive evidence of the alleged al Qaeda link to the Damascus attacks.
    "Do we have hard, conclusive evidence at this point? No, we don't. But as I said earlier, the Damascus attacks were clearly carried out by a group with organization and intent," Nesirky said.
    "And there is indeed a genuine concern shared by the Secretary General, General Mood (referring to General Robert Mood, head of UNMIS, the UN Supervisory Mission in Syria) and the joint special envoy, that terrorist groups are already taking advantage of the continued violence and insecurity in Syria. A third element, a third force," he added.
    Damascus has maintained all along that it is facing a "terrorist" conspiracy funded and directed from abroad, not least by resource-rich Gulf monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which have called for arming the fighters aiming to oust Assad.
    Syria earlier this month sent the United Nations the names of 26 foreign nationals it said had been apprehended after coming to fight in Syria. It described 20 of those as members of al Qaeda who had entered the country from Turkey.
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