WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden stated Sunday that the sudden collapse of the Syrian authorities below Bashar Assad is a “fundamental act of justice” after a long time of repression, nevertheless it was “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Center East.
Biden spoke on the White Home hours after insurgent teams accomplished a takeover of the nation following greater than a dozen years of violent civil battle and a long time of management by Assad and his household. Biden stated the USA was monitoring stories of the whereabouts of Assad, with Russian state media saying he had fled to Moscow and obtained asylum from his longtime ally.
The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump had been working to make sense of latest threats and alternatives throughout the Center East.
Biden credited motion by the U.S. and its allies for weakening Syria’s backers — Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. He stated “for the first time” that they may not defend Assad’s grip on energy.
“Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East,” Biden stated, after a gathering along with his nationwide safety group.
Trump stated Sunday that Assad had fled as a result of shut ally Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “was not interested in protecting him any longer.”
These feedback on Trump’s social media platform got here a day after he used one other put up to decry the opportunity of the U.S. intervening militarily in Syria to assist the rebels, declaring, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.” The Biden administration stated it had no intention of intervening.
The united stateshas about 900 troops in Syria, together with forces working with Kurdish allies within the opposition-held northeast to stop any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Biden stated he supposed for these troops to stay, including that U.S. forces on Sunday carried out “precision air strikes” on IS camps and operations in Syria.
U.S. Central Command stated the operation hit greater than 75 targets.
“We’re clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try and take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its credibility, and create a safe haven,” Biden stated, utilizing a special acronym for the group. “We will not let that happen.”
The Syrian opposition that introduced down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the U.S. says is a terrorist group with hyperlinks to al-Qaida, though the group says it has since damaged ties with al-Qaida.
“We will remain vigilant,” Biden stated. “Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses.” He added that the teams are “saying the right things now.”
“But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions,” Biden stated.
A senior Biden administration official, when requested about contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders after Assad’s departure, stated Washington was in touch with Syrian teams of every kind. The official, who was not approved to publicly focus on the state of affairs and spoke on situation of anonymity, additionally stated the U.S. has targeted over the previous a number of days on chemical weapons that had been managed by the Assad authorities, aiming to make sure they had been secured.
Nonetheless, Assad’s fall provides to an already tense state of affairs all through a lot of area on many fronts — together with Israel’s battle with Hamas in Gaza and its fragile ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Like Biden, Trump, who takes workplace in five-plus weeks, made a connection between the upheaval in Syria and Russia’s battle in Ukraine, noting that Assad’s allies in Moscow, in addition to in Iran, the principle sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, “are in a weakened state right now.”
Vice President-elect JD Vance, a veteran of the U.S.-led battle in Iraq, wrote on social media Sunday to specific skepticism concerning the insurgents.
“Many of ‘the rebels’ are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they’ve moderated. Time will tell,” he stated.
Trump has instructed that Assad’s ouster can advance the prospects for an finish to preventing in Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
The president-elect wrote that Putin’s authorities “lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine” and Trump referred to as for an instantaneous ceasefire, a day after assembly in Paris with the French and Ukrainian leaders.
Daniel B. Shapiro, a deputy assistant secretary of protection for the Center East, stated the American army presence will proceed in japanese Syria however was “solely to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and has nothing to do with other aspects of this conflict.”
“We call on all parties in Syria to protect civilians, particularly those from Syria’s minority communities to respect international military norms and to work to achieve a resolution to include the political settlement,” Shapiro stated.
“Multiple actors in this conflict have a terrible track record, to include Assad’s horrific crimes, Russia’s indiscriminate aerial bomb bombardment, Iranian-back militia involvement and the atrocities of ISIS,” he added.
Shapiro additionally stated “no one should shed any tears over the Assad regime.”
As they pushed towards the Syrian capital of Damascus, the opposition forces freed political detainees from authorities prisons. The household of lacking U.S. journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to seek out him.
“To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we’re waiting for Austin,” Tice’s mom, Debra, stated in feedback that hostage advocacy teams unfold on social media. “We know that when he comes out, he’s going to be fairly dazed & he’s going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!”
Tice disappeared in 2012 outdoors Damascus because the civil battle was intensifying.
“We’ve remained committed to returning him to his family,” Biden stated on the White Home. “We believe he’s alive, we think we can get him back but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable.”
The president added: “We have to identify where he is.”
The U.S. has no new proof that Tice is alive however continues to function below the belief that he’s, in accordance with a U.S. official. The official, who was not approved to remark publicly, added that the U.S. will proceed to work to determine Tice’s whereabouts and to attempt to carry him house .
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Related Press writers Jon Gambrell in Manama, Bahrain, and Aamer Madhani and AP White Home Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
