We did not ask Egypt to deploy troops in Ghouta, Homs: Jarba

CAIRO - 5 August 2017: Egypt was not asked to deploy troops in eastern Ghouta and Homs or to guarantee ceasefire deals, said Syria’s “Al-Ghad” (Tomorrow) opposition movement’s chairperson, Ahmed Jarba, in a press conference in Cairo on Saturday.

“If it was either necessary or required, we would’ve ask the Egyptian government to do so (deploy troops); but it’s not,” Jabba stated, adding, however, that Egypt has the final decision in this regard.

Jarba held a press conference in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the current developments in Syria, following the Egypt-Russia brokered ceasefire affecting some cities in northern Syria.

He said that if there was an option for the existence of any deterrence force inside Syria, it should be Arab; however, Russian troops are the only available solution currently available. According to Jarba, Ghouta and Homs are among of the most difficult and complex regions inside Syria.

“The Russian existence is an important guarantee for the ceasefires, and any accusations regarding their loyalty to the Syrian regime is something we cannot fully accept or understand,” Jarba said.

He added that the most important thing about these agreements is not to allow any violations to happen, especially since Homs has been besieged for three consecutive years without allowing any humanitarian aid to enter.

Regarding the United States’ stance about the ceasefires, Jarba affirmed that Trump’s administration says that these agreements are “enhancing the international war against terrorism.”

Jarba affirmed that all the violations that took place during the past period happened because of those militants who refuse to join the ceasefire agreements, especially the Rahman Corps, which is affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. “We are still waiting for them to join the agreement so the suffering of the Syrian people will stop. Until then, they are responsible for all the violations in eastern Ghouta and Homs.”

He denied that any of the brokering countries (Egypt and Russia) would be responsible for any acts of violence or violations.

Egypt and Russia have brokered two ceasefire agreements between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and armed opposition fighters in certain areas in northern Syria.

On July 23, the first ceasefire was announced in the eastern Ghouta region in Damascus, while the second de-escalation deal was announced in an area in the northern Homs countryside on August 3.

Syria's Al-Ghad opposition movement was founded in March 2016 by Syrian National Council member Ahmed Jarba. Recently, the opposition movement signed a ceasefire agreement in eastern Ghouta with the Syrian regime.

Syria’s political situation has been deteriorating since the protests that emerged during the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011, when the opposition created the “Free Syrian Army” to face Assad’s forces. The situation worsened when the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group began interfering in the country in 2014.

About 470,000 people have been killed since the beginning of the war as of February 2016, according to the latest data from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Some 1.6 million Syrian have been domestically displaced, while the number of refugees has reached 4.8 million people, the data added.