News Outlets Urge Syria Rebels to Halt Abductions – ABC News.
If these news outlets took a serious look at the reports their journalists have been producing since the beginning of the Revolution they would know that there are two parties involved in kidnapping journalists in Syria: the regime and Al-Qaeda. They would also know that moderate rebels have consistently been involved in protecting journalists or trying to secure their release from their captors by offering prisoner exchange deals when the regime was involved, with the regime always rejecting such offers, or, on occasions, by attacking Al-Qaeda hideouts and securing the release of kidnapped journalists by force.
At this stage, however, and due to lack of international support, moderate rebels are no longer in a position to do anything, and Islamist rebels are uninterested in doing anything.
The 13 organizations who signed this letter are barking up the wrong tree and pointing their accusing fingers at the wrong party. Rebel-held territories are not necessarily rebel-secured territories. We have been trying to explain the implication of this for many months, to no avail it seems. Without adequate support the rebels are unable to pacify and secure their areas. This has been the problem since the beginning of the armed phase of the revolution.
There is no party that can guarantee the safety of foreign correspondents inside Syria at this stage. Securing the release of those kidnapped by the regime requires negotiating with the regime. As for those kidnapped by Al-Qaeda, the possibility of successfully negotiating their release in this case is slim to none. only intelligence and military operations might succeed.
The Ammar Abdulhamid Archive 