The US Ambassador to Syria has announced that the Islamic Front, a newly formed organisation battling against the Syrian government, has refused to engage in talks with the United States, in an interview aired on Wednesday.
Speaking on Al-Arabiya television, American envoy Robert Ford called the rejection "an extremely negative development", stating,
"The Islamic Front has refused to sit with us, without giving any reason... We are ready to sit with them because we talk to all parties and political groups in Syria".
The Islamic Front, consisting of 6 different groups, is one of several organisations engaged in fighting against the Syrian government, headed by Bashar Al-Assad. Last week the Front overran a warehouse held by the Free Syrian Army, which had received backing from Washington. After the incident, the US and UK both suspended non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition.
Ford went on to say,
"If there is not tight cooperation between the different armed groups that are fighting the regime, the regime is going to be successful in surviving".
"It is extremely important that the Supreme Military Council be able to play its role of coordinating. If it cannot do that, I do not see how the armed opposition can be truly effective."