The so-called Syrian free army on behalf of all the armed rebels has promised to pay $25 million for "the head" of President Bashar al-Assad. According to one of the rebel commanders Colonel Ahmed Hijazi, "Syrian businessmen inside the country and beyond its borders" guarantee the payment.
Hijazi added that the reward is intended to entice those closest to the Assad regime. "A person who can bring Assad to us dead or alive deserves more than $25 million. However, we only have this sum at our disposal", - he mentioned.
Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro who chairs the International Commission of Inquiry for Syria, sees mercenaries as the most dangerous and scary element of the civil war going on in that Arab country.
Speaking at the ongoing session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva Pinheiro said that some of the mercenaries were joining forces with the opposition, while others were setting up independent groups acting on their own.
The mercenaries are exacerbating tensions in Syria and encouraging the opposition to radicalize, the diplomat said, adding that none of the sides could win and calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
