Turkey added al Qaeda's franchise in neighbouring Syria to a list of terrorist organisations on Tuesday, in a sign of the country's growing concern over the rise of radicals across the border. Although other jihadist groups fighting in Syria's civil war claim to be inspired by al Qaeda, the Al-Nusra Front is the only one to be officially sanctioned by the group's leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Rights groups have accused the Al-Nusra Front of committing war crimes against civilians in Syria, including executions and hostage taking. Turkey, which backs the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, has repeatedly denied claims that it is providing shelter or backing al Qaeda linked groups in Syria. The decision to add Al-Nusra Front on the "list of al Qaeda linked organisations" was published in Turkey's Official Gazette. Ankara has long championed robust support for Syria's fragmented opposition but the growing influence of al Qaeda affiliated groups in the war-torn country left it open to accusations that it is backing radical Islamists.
Comments
Comments are closed.