Trump warns Assad against "recklessly" attacking Idlib.
(Baonghean.vn) - US President Donald Trump has warned Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad against attacking Idlib province, one of the last remaining strongholds of terrorist forces in the country. Trump also cautioned Iran and Russia against participating in a “potential humanitarian tragedy.”
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| Illustration photo: SANA |
Expressing concern that hundreds of thousands of lives could be at risk in upcoming Syrian military operations to clear militants from Idlib province, Trump warned Damascus, as well as Moscow and Tehran, against “making a grave humanitarian mistake.”
"Syrian President Bashar al-Assad must not risk attacking Idlib province," Trump wrote on Twitter on the afternoon of September 3. "The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake if they participated in this potential humanitarian tragedy."
Russia, which has not yet commented on the latest statement from the US leader, has been working for weeks to establish humanitarian corridors in Syria's Idlib province.
Just before Trump's tweet, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Russia, Türkiye, and Iran are seeking to separate the armed opposition and terrorist elements in the region so that any military operation would minimize civilian casualties. At the same time, Lavrov emphasized that terrorist elements in Syria are still being supplied with weapons and ammunition.
In recent weeks, the Russian military has also warned that militants are preparing to stage a fake chemical weapons attack in Idlib to blame Damascus. Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern that such a “false flag” attack could become a pretext for the US and its allies to launch airstrikes against Syrian government targets, further undermining the reconciliation process in the country.
The U.S. had previously announced it would “retaliate” against the Syrian government’s potential chemical attack, using more firepower than in April. Trump’s latest warning comes amid Russian military exercises in the Mediterranean involving 25 ships and strategic bombers, an activity the Kremlin has implicitly said is related to the situation in Idlib, Syria.
Previously, the US Navy had also deployed the guided-missile destroyers USS Ross and USS The Sullivans to the region. This combat group also includes B-1B Lancer bombers that have been redeployed to a military base in Qatar.
