Syria Snapshot: The Regime's "Jihadist" Disinformation? (Mqayed)

Caption from Al-Akhbar: "A man wearing a black shirt bearing an Al-Qaeda flag (L) speaks with a UN observer as monitors meet with rebels and civilians in the village of Azzara in the province of Homs on 4 May 2012. (Photo: AFP- Joseph Eid)"

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the above photo made the rounds on the usual regime-owned & regime-sympathetic outlets --- initially featured on the state-owned daily al-Watan, where it was depicted as “proof” for the regime’s claims about “Salafi terrorist gangs” and even as a basis for accusing UNSMIS observers of “collaboration” with them. The photo also made an appearance in an article by Sharmine Nawrani on al-Akhbar claiming “a growing Jihadi presence in Syria”.

The only, and perhaps most damning, caveat is that the man in the above photo is in fact the exact opposite of what the regime claims.

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