Myanmar Military Chief Assumes Terrorist Acts In Country Linked To Militants Fleeing Syria

Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's Defense Services Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has said that he is not ruling out a connection between militants who have fled Syria and the recent attacks in the Philippines and Myanmar

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th April, 2019) Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar's Defense Services Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has said that he is not ruling out a connection between militants who have fled Syria and the recent attacks in the Philippines and Myanmar.

"There was a very big political problem in Syria, namely the civil war. Your country [Russia] helped [to resolve the conflict], and, because of Russia's support, all terrorists who operated in Syria fled back to their home countries. Afterward, terrorist attacks started to take place in the Philippines and Myanmar. I do not want to say that one thing has a 100 percent connection with the other, but to some extent these two things are connected," the official told Sputnik.

Min Aung Hlaing speculated that someone from abroad was helping these terrorists organize the attacks.

"Yes, probably, there is someone who helps [terrorists] from abroad. As far as I know, there is no such a person or organization in our country that could help terrorists to such an extent. Therefore, I want to say that there is someone abroad. I can confidently say that if the people of Myanmar, neighboring countries and our friends help, then we can fully resolve the issue of terrorism. It is only a matter of time," the Myanmar military chief said.

Earlier in April, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service, said that the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda terrorist organizations (both banned in Russia) still posed a serious threat, despite their significant losses in Iraq and Syria.

According to him, interlinked and autonomous cells are spreading beyond the borders of the middle East to Europe, Central and Southeast Asia, while large formations are going deep into Africa.

The armed conflict in Syria has been ongoing since 2011. Victory over the IS in Iraq and Syria was announced in late 2017, but operations against militants continue in some areas. The focus in Syria, however, has largely shifted toward political settlement.

In January, over 20 people were killed in the Philippines in two blasts that hit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, located in the Sulu province's Jolo municipality. The IS claimed responsibility for the attack. Extremists affiliated with the IS have also staged numerous attacks in the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao in recent years, where the martial law was introduced in 2017.

Min Aung Hlaing came to Moscow to attend the Moscow Conference on International Security. The participants are expected to discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Syria, as well as regional security in Asia, Africa and Latin America.