U.S. drops ammunition to Syrian rebels as EU calls on Russia to halt strikes
World
U.S. drops ammunition to Syrian rebels as EU calls on Russia to halt strikes
U.S. forces have carried out an air drop of small arms ammunition to Syrian Arab rebels in northern Syria, barely two weeks after Russia raised the stakes by intervening in the war on the side of President Bashar Assad. A U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Monday the air drop of supplies to the opposition fighters on Sunday was part of a revamped U.S. strategy announced last week to help rebels in Syria battling Islamic State militants. Last week, Washington shelved a program to train and equip “moderate” rebels opposed to Assad who would join the fight against Islamic State.
The military escalation risks prolonging the conflict, undermining a political process, aggravating the humanitarian situation and increasing radicalization.
EU ministers, at meeting in Luxembourg
The European Union urged Russia on Monday to halt its aerial bombing campaign in Syria, but the bloc’s 28 member states failed to agree among themselves on whether President Bashar Assad should have any role in ending the crisis. Seeking a common front in their criticism of Russia’s dramatic military intervention in Syria, ministers also sought to further pressure Assad by agreeing to broaden the EU’s economic sanctions criteria to people benefiting from his government, a move essentially aimed at freezing the assets of the spouses of senior figures, although no names have been added to the EU’s list.
For peace in Syria, we need a political transition. That must be done without Assad.
Harlem Désir, France’s European affairs minister
