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| Syria crisis: Bashar al-Assad says West will 'pay price' | Syria crisis: Bashar al-Assad says West will 'pay price' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the West will pay a high price for what he described as its support for al-Qaeda in his country's conflict. | Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the West will pay a high price for what he described as its support for al-Qaeda in his country's conflict. |
| In a TV interview, Mr Assad compared the situation to US support for Islamists in Afghanistan leading to the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. | In a TV interview, Mr Assad compared the situation to US support for Islamists in Afghanistan leading to the rise of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. |
| Syria's rebel al-Nusra Front recently pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, but is on a US terror blacklist. | Syria's rebel al-Nusra Front recently pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, but is on a US terror blacklist. |
| The group has emerged as an effective anti-government force. | The group has emerged as an effective anti-government force. |
| It first appeared in January 2012 and is the best known of the militant Islamist groups involved in the fighting. | |
| It has claimed to be behind most of the suicide bombings during the conflict. | |
| More than 60,000 people are estimated to have died since the uprising against Mr Assad's government began in March 2011. | |
| 'No to surrender' | |
| Mr Assad alluded to the aid provided by the US to the Afghan Mujahideen in 1980 during their war against the Soviet occupation, seen as one of the roots of jihadism. | |
| "The West has paid heavily for funding al-Qaeda in its early stages. Today it is doing the same in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy price in the heart of Europe and the United States," Mr Assad said. | "The West has paid heavily for funding al-Qaeda in its early stages. Today it is doing the same in Syria, Libya and other places, and will pay a heavy price in the heart of Europe and the United States," Mr Assad said. |
| He said that his own defeat would be catastrophic. | He said that his own defeat would be catastrophic. |
| "There is no option but victory, otherwise it will be the end of Syria and I don't think that the Syrian people will accept such an option," he said. | "There is no option but victory, otherwise it will be the end of Syria and I don't think that the Syrian people will accept such an option," he said. |
| "The truth is there is a war and I repeat: no to surrender, no to submission." | |
| In the interview, Mr Assad also accused Jordan of allowing rebels free movement across the its borders. | |
| "I cannot believe that hundreds [of rebels] are entering Syria with their weapons while Jordan is capable of arresting any single person with a light weapon for going to resist in Palestine," he said. | |
| The interview will be aired later on Wednesday on state TV, but excerpts were released on the presidency's Facebook page. | The interview will be aired later on Wednesday on state TV, but excerpts were released on the presidency's Facebook page. |
| It comes on the country's independence day, marking the end of French rule in 1946. |