PHOTO: Opposition-rebel negotiator Mohammad Alloush — “His resignation is a message to Saudi Arabia”
The reasons for the resignation of Mohammad Alloush, the lead negotiator of Syria’s opposition-rebel High Negotiations Committee, are clear. Continued regime bombing, sieges, and detentions, as President Assad ruled out any transitional governing authority, have pre-empted any effective talks.
However, what explains the timing of Alloush’s departure on Sunday? I think it is a signal that Syria’s rebels — and possibly much of the opposition — now believe that a resolution can only come on the battlefield. If so, the resignation should be see in the context of the relations between rebels and Saudi Arabia: will the Saudis now defy the US and give significant military support to those wanting Assad’s overthrow?
I talked to Mike Woods of Radio France International on Monday afternoon about the dynamics:
