15:15, 09-Feb-2018
Syria Conflict: US State Department defends deadly strikes
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Now to the ongoing crisis in Syria. The US State Department is defending recent strikes in Syria, which killed dozens of civilians. The US says its strikes in Syria are meant to help stabilize the country, in the hopes of facilitating fair and free elections.
HEATHER NAUERT US STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON "The United States doesn't give up. We just flat out don't give up. As American people, we don't give up. We stand up, we do what's right. We fight on behalf of people who are being humiliated, people who are being terrorized. That is why we are in Syria."
Syria is calling the attack in Deir el-Zour Province a massacre. The country's foreign ministry sent two messages Thursday to the UN, and called the strikes a new aggression that poses a war crime and a crime against humanity. The US-led coalition was set up in 2014 to battle Islamic State fighters in both Syria and Iraq, who were largely defeated last year.