Study in Aleppo finds most residents reject both the Syrian government and the Syrian National Coalition. 40% of the 561 Aleppo residents surveyed from September through January tend to believe that “no one” represents the Syrian people A surprise, according to Nate Rosenblatt of Caerus, was the low degree of support enjoyed by the Syrian government even in the regime-controlled western portion of the city. Between 20-40% of residents in those neighborhoods, many of them heavily Christian, described the regime of Bashar al-Assad as the “greatest threat to Syria,” Rosenblatt said. Citywide, the government had the support of only about 12% of the population while the externally based Syrian National Coalition was backed by less than 2%. These Syrians, with less than 15 percent support in Aleppo, participated in the recent failed peace talks in Geneva. So-called Islamic brigades, including Jabhat al-Nusra, had about 29% support, with other Syrian-led forces next at about 21%. By Barbara Slavin
Posted on: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 08:36:56 +0000