Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has condemned the string of coordinated terrorist attacks that killed at least 127 people in and around the French capital of Paris.
“What France suffered from – savage terror – is what the Syrian people have been enduring for over five years,” he said on Saturday, hours after the attacks in France.
The attacks in France were carried out late on Friday, when assailants struck at least six different venues in and around the French capital.
President Assad added in a meeting with a delegation of French lawmakers in the Syrian capital of Damascus that “mistaken policies” adopted by Paris have contributed to the “spread of terrorism” that led to the latest terror attacks in the European country.
Foreign-backed militants in Syria (File photo)
The Syrian leader further said that Paris terrorist attacks cannot be separated from the bombings that took place in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Thursday and from what Syria has been enduring for the past five years.
On Thursday, a twin blasts claimed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists took 44 lives in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Syrian president said that he had warned “what would happen in Europe for the past three years” if its leaders continued with their policies but his warnings were not heeded.
“We said, don’t take what is happening in Syria lightly. Unfortunately, European officials did not listen.”
He also urged French President Francois Hollande to change his policy. “The question that is being asked throughout France today is, was France’s policy over the past five years the right one? The answer is no.”
Rescuers evacuate injured person in Paris, 14 November 2015 (AFP photo)
Since March 2011, Syria has been beset by foreign-backed militancy, which has so far claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and displaced millions of others.
The militancy in the Arab country has intensified due to the activities of militants groups, including Daesh which has overrun about a third of Syria, where it is tyrannizing the civilian population.
France is among the Western countries that have been supporting the militants fighting against the Syrian government. As part of a US-led coalition, the country has also been conducting air raids against what it alleges to be Daesh positions in the violence-scarred Arab country.
President Assad complained back in May that the so-called coalition against Daesh does not aim to “do away” with the terror group, adding, “They want to use this terrorist structure for threatening and blackmailing other countries.”
Also on Saturday, Daesh released an undated video, threatening to attack France as long as the aerial campaign continued.
“As long as you keep bombing you will not live in peace. You will even fear traveling to the market,” said a Daesh member in the footage.