US Strikes Against Syrian Government Forces' 'Lawful Measures' - Trump
© REUTERS / Rodi Said
Washington's actions in Syria have not been authorized neither by the government nor by the UN, with Damascus calling the US presence "illegal" and "aggression."
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — President Donald Trump wrote in a letter to the US Congress on Monday that since the last periodic update report, the US Armed Forces participating in the anti-Daesh campaign in Syria have undertaken "a limited number of strikes against Syrian government and pro-Syrian government forces."
"These strikes were lawful measures to counter immediate threats to the United States and partner forces engaged in that campaign," Trump wrote.
Comprised of more than 70 members, the US-led coalition has conducted airstrikes, as well as ground-based and rocket-propelled artillery fire against Daesh in Syria and Iraq, with the strikes in the Arab Republic not being authorized by the UN Security Council or Damascus, which has repeatedly protested against what it calls "aggression."
While the US usually refrained from striking the Syrian Army fighting against terrorists, Trump previously ordered a massive strike with Tomahawk missiles on a government forces' air base, using a chemical incident in Idlib province as a pretext for the attack, blaming Damascus for the attack even prior to the launch of an investigation. The Syrian government has strongly denied responsibility for the chemical weapons attack, emphasizing that Damascus has not had such arms since 2014.
© AP Photo / APTV
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According to the latest figures from Operation Inherent Resolve, at least 801 civilians have been unintentionally killed by the coalition's strikes in Syria and Iraq as of November.
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airstrikes, strikes, Daesh, Bashar al-Assad, Syria, United States