During an interview in Brussels Monday, a leader of the opposition's Syrian National Coalition (SNC) said he'd prefer a Syria under Daesh (ISIS) control than one under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
SNC Head of the Legal Department in the Haitham Al Maleh told Al Araby TV he and the rest of the opposition were unwilling to enter any peace deal that included Assad.
"A new reform order is being put together by the coalition and other opposition parties that will not accept Assad in any future solution in Syria," he said.
This week we've seen a warming from both Western and Arab states to the embattled Syrian president, as a desire from Moscow to keep him in place becomes more and more apparent.
But the stance is one SNC members are not getting behind, and they're not the only ones from the opposition.
Inside Syria, rebels fighting across the country have steadfastly rejected any framework deal that includes Assad remaining in power. Over the last several months, prospective candidates in the US train-and-equip program have dropped out over what they say is a lack of US focus toward the rebels' main goal — ousting Assad.
Meanwhile, headquartered in Turkey, SNC leaders have said they would not negotiate with the Syrian president or his inner circle. Maleh went a step further Monday, when asked about Syria's future.
"If I have to choose between living under Assad or Daesh, I'd live under Daesh."
After the comment made it onto social media, one user summed up the impossible choice pretty well.
@hxhassan Under Assad tortured and slowly dismembered to death. Under ISIS quickly beheaded. Either way he and we are all screwed.
— HAMDI RIFAI (@HAMDIRIFAI) September 28, 2015
Watch the full interview (in Arabic) below. Via Facebook.
هيثم المالح: "إذا خيرت بين بشار الأسد وداعش سوف أذهب إلى داعش"#العربي_اليوم
Posted by شبكة التلفزيون العربي on Monday, September 28, 2015
