Assad allies say U.S. attack on Syria air base crosses "red lines"

[webfact]

Assad allies say U.S. attack on Syria air base crosses "red lines"

REUTERS

 

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during an interview with Croatian newspaper Vecernji List in Damascus, Syria, in this handout picture provided by SANA on April 6, 2017. SANA/Handout via REUTERS/Files

 

AMMAN (Reuters) - A joint command centre made up of the forces of Russia, Iran and militias supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the U.S. strike on a Syrian air base on Friday crossed "red lines" and it would respond to any new aggression and increase its support for its ally.

 

The United States fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian air base on Friday from which it said a deadly chemical weapons attack had been launched earlier in the week, escalating the U.S. role in Syria and drawing criticism from Assad's allies including Russia and Iran.

 

"What America waged in an aggression on Syria is a crossing of red lines. From now on we will respond with force to any aggressor or any breach of red lines from whoever it is and America knows our ability to respond well," said the statement published by the group on media outlet Ilam al Harbi (War Media).

 

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meanwhile, blamed Russian inaction for helping fuel the chemical weapons attack it had reacted to, saying Moscow had failed to carry out a 2013 agreement to secure and destroy chemical weapons in Syria.

 

He said the United States expected Russia to take a tougher stance against Syria by rethinking its alliance with Assad because "every time one of these horrific attacks occurs, it draws Russia closer into some level of responsibility."

 

PUTIN, ROUHANI SPEAK

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran's Hassan Rouhani said in a phone call that aggressive U.S. actions against Syria were not permissible and violated international law, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

 

The two leaders also called for an objective investigation into an incident involving chemical weapons in Syria's Idlib and said they were ready to deepen cooperation to fight terrorism, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website.

 

Syrian army forces had been losing ground across the country until Russia intervened militarily in September 2015, propping up Assad and protecting its own interests in the region.

 

Assad has also drawn heavily on foreign Shi'ite militias sponsored by Iran, led by Lebanon's Hezbollah group, for his most important gains since the Russian intervention.

 

The joint command centre also said the presence of U.S troops in northern Syria where Washington has hundreds of special forces helping the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to oust Islamic State was "illegal" and that Washington had a long-term plan to occupy the area.

 

The regional alliance said the U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian base which Washington said was involved in a chemical attack that killed dozens of civilians would not deter their forces from "liberating" all of Syrian territory.

 

In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the U.S. missile strike was a "a strategic error, and a repeat of the mistakes of the past," the state news agency IRNA reported.

 

"The Islamic Republic has shown that.. it does not back off and its people and officials ... do not retreat in the face of threats," said Khamenei.

 

Many Syrians opposed to Assad's rule consider Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian-backed troops as occupiers seeking to drive out mainly Sunni Syrians from the areas they live in. They hold Iran and its allies responsible for the displacement of millions outside the country.

 

They also see Russia as a foreign occupier whose relentless aerial bombardment of rebel-held areas has led to thousands of civilian casualties. Some accuse Moscow of applying a "scorched-earth policy" that targets hospitals, schools and residential areas more than frontlines to break the resolve of the anti-Assad insurgency.

 

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Additional reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Stephen Powell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-10

[retarius]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Many Syrians opposed to Assad's rule consider Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iranian-backed troops as occupiers seeking to drive out mainly Sunni Syrians from the areas they live in. They hold Iran and its allies responsible for the displacement of millions outside the country.

 

They also see Russia as a foreign occupier whose relentless aerial bombardment of rebel-held areas has led to thousands of civilian casualties. Some accuse Moscow of applying a "scorched-earth policy" that targets hospitals, schools and residential areas more than frontlines to break the resolve of the anti-Assad insurgency.

But many more Syrians see the foreign mercenaries trained by the US, and funded by Saudi and Qatar as occupying forces. This is the reason that the US don't want a free election with Assad as a candidate….he would win hands down.

[ilostmypassword]

22 minutes ago, retarius said:

But many more Syrians see the foreign mercenaries trained by the US, and funded by Saudi and Qatar as occupying forces. This is the reason that the US don't want a free election with Assad as a candidate….he would win hands down.

I doubt that. Assad's an Alawite in a mostly Sunni country.  That said, I don't think most Syrians would vote for ISIS or Al-Nusra either.

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, FangFerang said:

in 2013 the UN found the rebels had made TWO chemical attacks, as reported by BBC and many others, including the UN itself.

Is this what you're referencing in part?

"More than 80 people were killed by suspected chemical weapons in Khan Sheikhoun. That is about the only thing certain about the attack. Western statements place blame at the feet of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, an accusation Damascus and Moscow contest."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23927399

 

Otherwise I look forward to your references wherein the UN has concluded chemical attacks being made by the rebels.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Srikcir
rearrangement

[Stargeezr]

Assad should go to Russia and live there as Putin seems to love him that much. Assad does not represent Syria any more, he is killing  his own people and getting Russia to help him do that.    A for Putin and the Government of Russia saying that the USA  has crossed some lines. Get out of the Ukraine, including the Crimea area, you bunch of hippocrits. Cleanup your own house Putin!  Russia ad Putin,  helping Assad is like a wolf helping the fox protect the chickens.

Geezer

[mrwebb8825]

Russia wants only to protect is shipping port/base in Syria - offered an alternative with the port remaining in Russian control and I'd bet Putin would dump Assad and the Iranians in a heartbeat. Might just be why Tillerson is heading over to Moscow. Without Russian support, Iran and Syria would be screwed.