Updated
Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad has described British air strikes against Islamic State in Syria as “illegal” and says it will only result in “terrorism” to spread.
British MPs voted on final week to join the US-led bombing campaign over Syria.
In an interview with UK media, Mr Assad contrasted Britain’s strategy with Russia, which has the backing of the Syrian government.
“It will be harmful and illegal and it will assistance terrorism as happened after the coalition began its operation a year or so [ago],” he told The Sunday Instances.
Terror, he mentioned, was like a cancer which required to be tackled with a “extensive” strategy which would involve operating with troops on the ground.
“You can not cut out element of the cancer. You have to extract it. This type of operation is like cutting out component of the cancer. That will make it spread in the physique faster,” he said.
“You cannot defeat [IS] by way of air strikes alone. You can not defeat them without cooperation with forces on the ground. You cannot defeat them if you do not have acquire-in from the common public and the government.
“They are going to fail once again.”
Britain began its bombing campaign early on Thursday, hitting an oil field held by IS just hours following a decisive parliamentary vote authorised air strikes.
Momentum to join the air campaign grew soon after IS militants claimed a deadly series of attacks on Paris final month which killed 130 men and women and wounded far more than 350.
In late September, Russia started its personal bombing campaign in Syria in help of Mr Assad, more than a year following a US-led coalition started its strikes targeting the IS group.
Russia is coordinating its air strikes with Damascus, in contrast to the US-led coalition, whose action has been criticised by Mr Assad and his government as ineffectual.
Far more than 250,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011 with protests against Mr Assad’s regime.
AFP
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, government-and-politics, syrian-arab-republic
Very first posted