Syrian militants won’t win: Ex-Lebanon president

Former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud says foreign-sponsored militants will not be able to overthrow the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He said Syria has a strong army and enjoys the support of Russia, Iran and China, adding that the Arab country does not need help from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

Lahoud pointed out that Syrian militants will not be able to overthrow Bashar al-Assad as the former Soviet Union and the United States could not unseat former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The former Lebanese president has already urged Beirut to stay neutral on the Syrian conflict, and to block the flow of arms and militants from Lebanon into neighboring Syria.

The Syria crisis began in March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government says that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and there are reports that a very large number of the militants are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes in Syria.

In an interview recently broadcast on Turkish television, President Assad said that if the militants fighting against the Syrian government take power in his country, they could destabilize the entire Middle East for decades.

“If the unrest in Syria leads to the partitioning of the country, or if the terrorist forces take control… the situation will inevitably spill over into neighboring countries and create a domino effect throughout the Middle East and beyond,” he added.