WASHINGTON, United States — US President Joe Biden on Sunday stated deposed Syrian chief Bashar al-Assad ought to be “held accountable” however referred to as the nation’s political upheaval a “historic alternative” for Syrians to rebuild their nation.
Within the first full US response to Assad’s overthrow by an Islamist-led coalition of insurgent factions, Biden additionally warned that Washington will “stay vigilant” in opposition to the emergence of terrorist teams, saying that US forces had simply performed recent strikes in opposition to militants from the Islamic State group.
“The autumn of the regime is a elementary act of justice,” Biden stated, talking from the White Home. “It’s a second of historic alternative for the long-suffering individuals of Syria.”
Requested by reporters what ought to occur to the deposed president, who reportedly has fled to Moscow, Biden stated that “Assad ought to be held accountable.”
Biden – set to step down in January and make method for Republican Donald Trump’s return to energy – stated Washington would help Syrians in rebuilding.
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“We are going to have interaction with all Syrian teams, together with inside the course of led by the United Nations, to determine a transition away from the Assad regime towards impartial, sovereign Syria with a brand new structure,” he stated.
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READ: Syrians rejoice as Assad flees to Russia, ending brutal reign
Nonetheless, Biden cautioned that hardline Islamist teams inside the victorious insurgent alliance might be below scrutiny.
“Among the insurgent teams that took down Assad have their very own grim document of terrorism and human proper abuses,” Biden stated.
The USA had “taken word” of latest statements by rebels suggesting that they had since moderated, he stated, however cautioned: “We are going to assess not simply their phrases, however their actions.”
Biden stated Washington is “clear eyed” that the Islamic State extremist group, usually referred to as ISIS, “will attempt to benefit from any vacuum to reestablish” itself in Syria.
“We is not going to let that occur,” he stated, including that on Sunday alone, US forces had performed strikes in opposition to ISIS inside Syria.
The US navy stated the strikes had been performed by warplanes in opposition to Islamic State operatives and camps.
Strikes had been carried out in opposition to “over 75 targets utilizing a number of US Air Power belongings, together with B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s,” the US Central Command stated on social media.
Earlier, Biden met along with his nationwide safety group on the White Home to debate the disaster.
Biden on lacking US journalist
Assad’s reported departure comes lower than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group challenged greater than 5 a long time of Assad household rule with a lightning insurgent offensive that broke long-frozen frontlines in Syria’s civil battle.
READ: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the nation – battle monitor
They introduced Sunday that they had taken the capital Damascus and that Assad had fled, prompting celebrations nationwide and a ransacking of Assad’s luxurious house.
A Kremlin supply informed Russian information businesses that the deposed chief was now in Moscow, alongside along with his household.
The US navy has round 900 troops in Syria and a pair of,500 in Iraq as a part of the worldwide coalition established in 2014 to assist fight the Islamic State jihadist group.
It has often struck targets within the nation together with these linked to Iranian-backed militias. Tehran was a serious backer of Assad’s authorities.
Biden additionally confirmed US authorities consider the American journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, nonetheless lives.
“We consider he’s alive,” Biden stated, however the US has but “to determine the place he’s.”