Iran’s foreign minister warns against Syria’s disintegration and civil war

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were concerns about the “possibility of civil war, the disintegration of Syria, a total collapse and turning Syria into a shelter for terrorists.”

Araghchi was speaking on Iranian state TV on Sunday.

“We are watching the developments to prevent matters of concern. Those matters include the possibility of a new civil war or a war between various tribes, and god forbid, disintegration of Syria or a total collapse of Syria and its turning into a centre and a shelter for terrorists. And of course Iran has a special concern that is the Zionist regime using this situation,” said Araghchi.

Araghchi made those comments as Russian media reported on Sunday that ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.

As the insurgents swept across Syria in just 10 days to bring an end to the Assad family’s 50-year rule, they broke into prisons and security facilities to free political prisoners and many of the tens of thousands of people who disappeared since the conflict began back in 2011.

Syria’s prisons have been infamous for their harsh conditions. Torture is systematic, say human rights groups, whistleblowers, and former detainees. Secret executions have been reported at more than two dozen facilities run by Syrian intelligence, as well as at other sites.

In 2013, a Syrian military defector, known as “Caesar,” smuggled out over 53,000 photographs that human rights groups say showed clear evidence of rampant torture, but also disease and starvation in Syria’s prison facilities.

Additional sources • AP