US says will 'take firm measures' against Syria violations

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The US will “take firm and appropriate measures” in response to alleged Syrian government violations in a so-called de-escalation zone in the southwest of the country, the State Department said in a statement on Thursday.

The southwest of Syria, bordering Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is one of the remaining parts of the country still outside the government control after seven years of conflict.

President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have recovered swathes of territory from rebels with the help of Russian air power and Iran-backed militias, and he has repeatedly pledged to take back “every inch” of the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gestures during an interview with Iranian channel al-Alam News in Damascus, Syria in this handout released on June 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

Since last year, a “de-escalation” deal brokered by Russia, the United States and Jordan has contained fighting in the southwest.

As a member of the UN Security Council, Russia “is duly responsible” to “use its diplomatic and military influence over the Syrian government to stop attacks and compel the government to cease further military offensives,” the state department said in its statement.

The State Department also said the United States would release 6.6 million US dollars to the Syrian Civil Defense fund, commonly known as the White Helmets, and the UN International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, which collects and analyzes evidence of violations of international human rights laws.

More than 500,000 people have been killed and a lot more have fled their homes in years of bloody conflicts in Syria.

Source(s): Reuters