Unic Press UK: The United States armed forces, in collaboration with the armed forces of the French Republic and the United Kingdom, have launched air strikes on Syrian soil, said President Trump.
In a televised address, Trump said:
“My fellow Americans, a short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way. We thank them both.”
Earlier in the week, the U.S. President said on Twitter that air strikes against Syria are inevitable. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’”, he wrote.
The Russian envoy to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin had cautioned the U.S. against launching air strikes on Syrian soil, saying that Russia might shoot down missiles and even target the source(s) of any missiles directed on Syrian soil.
About the Syrian Civil War
The crisis that metamorphosed into a Syrian civil war started in March 2011 after government forces tried to silence protesters voicing support for democracy.
Within a period of five years, this armed conflict caused the death of circa 250,000 people, almost 8 million internally displaced, and 4 million refugees, said the Amnesty International on January 2016.
It’s a convoluted, multi-sided armed conflict fought primarily between the Syrian forces under the control of the Syrian government and its allies, and various forces [state and non-state actors] opposing the Syrian government.
The Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Turkey are collaborating, providing measured support for the Syrian government, while the United States leads a coalition seemingly seeking regime change in Syria.
The war has a geopolitical angle. Also, there is a ‘sectarian’ strand, thereby pitching the country’s Sunni Muslim majority against the Shia Muslim sect. Until recently, jihad terrorist group Islamic State (IS) was in control of a part of Syrian territory.
