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JERUSALEM — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday weighed in for the first time on the Syrian Islamist uprising against the country’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad, who is holed up in his palace in Damascus.
The extremist Islamic movement entered the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday and is preparing to attack a key stronghold of Assad’s fledgling government.
Trump warned on the social media platform Truth Social: “Syria is a mess, but it is not our friend, and the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it play out. I don’t get involved!”
He blamed former President Obama for failing to implement his “red line” to launch a military strike against Assad in 2013 after the Syrian dictator launched a mass chemical weapons attack on civilians, killing more than 1,400. More people were killed.
Critics accused the Obama administration of reneging on its promise to take military action against Bashar al-Assad for crimes against humanity.
“This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment to protect the red line in the sand, and all hell broke loose as Russia stepped in. The best thing that happened to him. Maybe, Russia never had much to gain in Syria, except to fool Obama,” Trump wrote.
“Opposition fighters in Syria, in an unprecedented move, in a highly coordinated operation, have completely captured several cities, and are now on the outskirts of Damascus, apparently Assad,” he added. are preparing to make a huge move to oust Russia, because they are tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss of over 600,000 troops there, it seems literally unstoppable March, a country whose They have protected for years.”
On Saturday, the Israeli military, which is on high alert, announced, “A UN post in the Hadar region of Syria was attacked by gunmen a short time ago. The IDF is assisting UN forces at this time.” Repelling the attack.”
Russia and Syria bombed Syrian Islamist rebels after launching a surprise attack
The IDF added that it has deployed additional forces in the Golan Heights area and will continue to work to protect the State of Israel and its citizens.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blanken discussed the situation in Syria with his Turkish counterpart. Turkey is the main supporter of the Islamic coalition that is trying to topple the Assad regime.
A terrorist group designated by the United States Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)The Islamist ex-al Qaeda affiliate, which is part of the rebel forces, is a key force that has seized large swathes of Syria over the past few days.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that “Blanken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan today to discuss developments in Syria. Secretary Blanken has continued to protect civilians, including members of minority groups, throughout Syria.” Emphasizes the importance.”
“The Secretary discussed the need for a political solution to the conflict, consistent with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254,” Miller added. [Organization for Security and Co-operation] Secretary General and look forward to continued cooperation in the region.”
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2254 in 2015, calling for a ceasefire, UN-supervised elections and a new constitution. Assad rejected the implementation of the resolution.
The State Department has classified the Assad regime as a state sponsor of terrorism. “I don’t see a major departure from his previous policy points,” Philip Smith, an expert on Iranian government proxy groups and Syria with the Atlantic Council, told Fox News Digital regarding Trump’s comments. “They are on this path. What’s going on?”
Trump’s message [the] Smith said the Assad regime and the HTS coalition “I wish them both luck.” He called Trump’s post a “statement of fact” about the Syrian civil war.
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Asked if he thought Assad would use chemical weapons on Islamist rebels, Smith said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. There’s a risk.” Smith expects a little more chaos in the battle for Damascus. “You’ll have different factions to control.”
“I think the writing is on the wall,” Smith said, noting the recent takeover of major Syrian cities like Aleppo and Hama over the past week. “There was no expectation of paper lion currency. Advance like this.”
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