The Pentagon warned Syrian government on Thursday not to carry out an offensive against US-backed Kurdish militants who control the country’s north-east.
Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, director of the joint staff, said on Thursday that Washington would deem it a bad policy for Syria if it attacked the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militant group, which enjoys massive US support.
“Any interested party in Syria should understand that attacking US Forces or our coalition partners will be a bad policy,” McKenzie said during a press conference.
The remarks came hours after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a televised interview that the United States must leave the county as the Syrian people will no longer accept illegal foreign presence in the country.
The Syrian leader also warned that the Syrian forces would not stand on ceremony to purge the country’s northeastern regions from militants, no matter who supported them.
Assad said Syria had “two options” in dealing with the SDF, which he described as “the only problem left in Syria”, adding that if the Kurds and their allied militants refused negotiations, Syria would retake its territory back through force.
Source: Agencies
