A civil warfare of “epic proportions” may erupt inside weeks, the highest US diplomat has claimed
Syria may face a surge of violence and complete collapse inside weeks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has advised lawmakers in Washington.
The highest US diplomat has defended President Donald Trump’s method to Syria, together with the choice to elevate unilateral sanctions and meet in particular person with the brand new Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, regardless of his jihadist background.
”The transitional authority, given the challenges they’re dealing with, are possibly weeks – not many months – away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil warfare of epic proportions,” Rubio advised the Senate International Relations Committee on Tuesday. “Mainly, the nation is splitting up.”
The secretary blamed former President Bashar Assad for the continued violence since 2011, when a US-backed effort to take away him from energy led to a chronic and bloody battle.
Rubio stated Syria had develop into “a playground for jihadist teams, together with ISIS and others.” Al-Sharaa, who as soon as led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) underneath the identify Abu Mohammad al-Julani, rose to energy after deposing Assad final yr.
Though the brand new Syrian management “didn’t go their background examine with the FBI,” Rubio stated the US should help them to stop wider regional instability. He argued that pragmatic international coverage signifies that the US human rights agenda is “completely different in sure components of the world” than in others.
Lifting sanctions would permit international help into Syria, doubtlessly stabilizing the economic system and inspiring thousands and thousands of displaced Syrians to return, Rubio stated. The White Home, nevertheless, stays unsure whether or not its method will succeed.
”If we have interaction [the al-Sharaa government], it could work out, it could not work out,” Rubio said. “If we didn’t have interaction them, it was assured to not work out.”
US sanctions had aimed to stymie Assad’s efforts to rebuild the nation after he regained management of most of Syria by 2015. Persistent points had eroded the morale of the Syrian army, which largely refused to defend Damascus when HTS launched its offensive final November.
Al-Sharaa has pledged to uphold Syria’s ethnic and spiritual range as he courts Western backing. Nevertheless, his rule has been marked by reported massacres of Alawites, Christians, and Assad supporters.
Israel has carried out a number of airstrikes in Syria in current months, claiming the assaults have been supposed to defend Druze militias from fighters aligned with the brand new authorities.
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