© AFP 2016/ RAMI AL-SAYED
Al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, has threatened to provoke Russia in Syria and to disrupt the ceasefire in the country, according to a Die Welt correspondent who met one of the jihadists in person.
The 37-year-old militant, who called himself Abu Musab al-Syri, claimed to be "responsible for propaganda" and called the truce a "stupid" measure. He revealed the terrorist group he is a member of had a strategy "to provoke Russians."
"Al-Nusra Front necessarily wants the ceasefire to fail and the strategy for this is to provoke Russians," Die Welt quotes the militant as saying.
According to the Russia-US brokered deal on the cessation of hostilities in Syria, the ceasefire, which came into force early on Saturday, is to be applied to those parties to the Syrian conflict that have indicated their commitment to and acceptance of its terms.
Consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 and the statements of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the cessation of hostilities does not apply to "Daesh", "Jabhat al-Nusra" (Al-Nusra Front), or other terrorist organizations designated by the UN Security Council.
It is worth recalling that Al-Nusra Front, which announced its formation on January 23, 2012, was just ten days later designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization. In May 2013, the United Nations Security Council Committee also designated it as a terrorist organization and added it to the 'Al-Qaida Sanctions List' of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and an arms embargo.
Since December 2014, Russia has also labeled it as a terrorist organization. Among other countries that recognize it as such are the UK, France, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE and New Zealand.
Abu Musab al-Syri apparently revealed that in the north of Syria the group is fighting alongside 'moderate' rebel groups in the military alliance of the so-called Army of Conquest against the government forces. In recent days, al-Nusra has reportedly withdrawn some of its militants, but some fighters still remain on the front lines.
With targeted offensives the jihadists plan to provoke retaliation from the Russian Air Force, which would accidentally hit the moderate factions who will find themselves in the line of fire. As soon as the moderate groups are under fire, the ceasefire will be disrupted.
The jihadist militant believes that the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad remains the only solution to the five-year civil war. "It has to be fought, everything else is an illusion," he claimed.
Comment: Common sense: if 'moderate rebels' are fighting alongside al-Nusra, they are not moderate. But the U.S. lacks common sense. So if these provocations work, the U.S. will have a field day criticizing Russia for "violating the ceasefire" by attacking "moderate rebels", who are BFFs with al-Qaeda. Strange world we live in, no? But it's uncertain whether this will work. If the "moderate rebels" sign the ceasefire, Russia and Syria will in all likelihood avoid bombing them. And if they break the ceasefire (al-Nusra or not), they will be justifiable targets. What are the "moderates" going to say? "It wasn't us! It was these guys who happen to be right here with us!" Plus, given the potential for false-flag provocations such as this, the Syrians and Russians have no doubt accounted for such contingencies well before the ceasefire went into effect.
See also: Syrian cessation of hostilities: 'Largely successful' so far, but even 'failure' is a success for Russia