Syria draws UN attention to presence of Saudi military in opposition militant groups

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Itar-Tass) - Syria on Thursday drew attention of the United Nations to report about the killed in its territory Saudi military who fought on the side of the opposition. Previous reports suggested that only ordinary Saudi citizens had penetrated into Syria. Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari told reporters on Friday that Saudis, in particular, take part in combat actions in the northwest of Syria. In particular, they were among the extremists who attacked the town of Kesab, populated mainly by people coming from Armenia. “All those who committed these crimes - they penetrated from the Turkish territory. They appear to be members of Jabhat Al-Nusra, Al Qaeda and other Islamic groups. We have the facts, official data testifying to dozens of Saudi Arabian citizens killed in this area,” the diplomat said. He cited an article, published in Saudi Arabia on Thursday suggesting that there were military among the killed Saudis. “One of them - Awad bin Musalla bin Fakhi bin Kharfi - a National Guard soldier, another - Captain Sultan bin Khamidi bin al-Kharbi, by the way, he was killed in Kesab. Air Force Sergeant Saif bin Jamaan al-Maliki and Lieutenant Colonel Ali Abdurrahman Mumina are also among the killed. These are only some of the names published in the article,” the Syrian ambassador to the UN said. According to him, the fact that such information is published in Saudi Arabia confirms that Syria’s apprehension is not just fantasy and it would be pointless to deny it. “Those who support terrorism in Syria will reap the fruits of their actions,” the diplomat warned. Over three years of the conflict in Syria, Bashar Jaafari has sent to the UN more than 200 letters, requesting to give a response to the support by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey of terrorists in Syria. The Syrian ambassador stated last week that Ankara had not only helped thousands of extremists penetrate into Syria, but also covered their advance with artillery fire.