Trump warns Assad not to “recklessly” attack Idlib
(Baonghean.vn) - US President Donald Trump has warned Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad not to attack Idlib province, one of the last terrorist strongholds in the country. Mr. Trump also advised Iran and Russia not to participate in the “possible humanitarian tragedy”.
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| Illustration photo: SANA |
Expressing concern that hundreds of thousands of lives could be at risk in the upcoming Syrian army operations to clear militants from Idlib province, Trump warned Damascus as well as Moscow and Tehran against “making a grave humanitarian mistake.”
“President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province,” Trump wrote on Twitter on the afternoon of September 3. “The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential humanitarian tragedy.”
Russia, which has not 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 Mr. Trump’s tweet, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that Russia, Türkiye, and Iran are trying to separate the armed opposition and terrorists in the region so that any military operation would minimize civilian casualties. At the same time, Lavrov emphasized that terrorists 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 raised concerns that such a “false flag” attack could be used as a pretext for the US and its allies to launch airstrikes against Syrian government targets, which would further undermine the reconciliation process in the country.
The US has previously said it would “retaliate” against a possible chemical attack by the Syrian government, using more firepower than it did in April. Trump’s latest warning comes as Russia conducts military exercises in the Mediterranean involving 25 ships and strategic bombers, which the Kremlin has said are linked to the situation in Syria’s Idlib.
The US Navy has also deployed guided-missile destroyers USS Ross and USS The Sullivans to the region. The strike group also includes B-1B Lancer bombers that have been redeployed to a military base in Qatar.
