On Thursday, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham called for establishing a no-fly zone over Idlib. He further called on President Donald Trump to help stop the killing of civilians there by Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran.
Graham, a Republican and an ally of Trump, said in a statement:
The world is sitting on its hands and watching the destruction of Idlib by Assad, Iran, and the Russians. I am confident if the world, led by the United States, pushed back against Iran, Russia, and Assad that they would stand down, paving the way for political negotiations to end this war in Syria.
Assad’s forces have pushed hard in recent months to retake the last large rebel-held region in northwestern Syria. After nine years of war, Assad has killed over 600,000 Syrians and displaced several millions. Just so he remains in power.
TURKISH ASSISTANCE
Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into Idlib province in an incursion to back the rebels against the offensive. In return, the Assad forces, with Russian help, have attacked its troops on several occasions.
Late on Thursday, Governor of Turkish southern province of Hatay bordering Syria, said the Syrian-Russian offensive has killed 22 soldiers in a deliberate air strike by Assad forces in Idlib. But war monitor Syrian Observatory said the push by Assad killed at least 34 Turkish soldiers.
DOES ERDOGAN SEE THE EVIL OF RUSSIA?
Kay Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, responding to the latest incident in a briefing, said she hoped that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would see who Ankara’s reliable ally is, alluding to the United States.
She told reporters in a briefing:
I hope President Erdogan will see that we are the ally of their past and their future. They see what Russia is, they see what they’re doing now.
She repeated Washington’s call on Ankara to walk away from the purchase of the Russian missile defense system.
Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads over Ankara’s decision to buy the Russian S-400 systems. Washington has threatened to impose sanctions on its NATO ally Turkey if Ankara refused to drop the weapons.
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