U.S. Warns Syrian Forces Against Chemical Weapons in Idlib Fight
- Pentagon calls on Syria, Russia to avoid large-scale offensive
- Fighting in Idlib raising concerns about humanitarian crisis
Plumes of smoke rise following reported Syrian government forces' bombardment on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of the jihadist-held Idlib province, on June 7, 2019.
Photographer: Anas AL-dyab/AFP
The Pentagon reiterated promises to respond to any use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces as the Assad regime’s offensive against militants in a key northwestern province threatens to cause another humanitarian crisis in the country’s eight-year civil war.
The U.S. and its allies “will respond quickly and appropriately,” Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said in a statement on Friday. “Assad has arguably done more than any other actor to destabilize the region by murdering his own people” and forcing millions to flee the country, he added.