Mattis says Assad paid heed to chemical attack warnings
Defence secretary threatened heavy price for such a raid
BEIRUT// Washington’s warnings to the Syrian government against a chemical weapons attack appear to have worked, US secretary of defence Gen Jim Mattis said yesterday. On Monday, the White House said the Syrian government could be preparing to launch a chemical attack, and warned that Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and his military forces would pay a heavy price if it did.
Later, the US said it had watched Syrian forces preparing such an attack at Shayrat airbase – the same base that was hit by a US Tomahawk missile strike in April.
“It appears that they took the warning seriously,” Gen Mattis said. “They didn’t do it.”
Meanwhile, the civilian toll in the war continues to climb.
Yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 30 civilians were killed in air strikes on territory held by ISIL in Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, but could not ascertain who was responsible.
On Monday, 57 people, including 42 civilians, were killed in an air raid on an ISIL prison in the town of Mayadeen, believed to have been conducted by the USled coalition.
As ISIL begins to weaken in Raqqa, its most important city, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces fighters gain more territory, civilians are increasingly at risk of getting caught up in the fighting.
As US-backed forces pressed on into Raqqa, the United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned yesterday that up to 100,000 civilians were stuck in the city. “The intense bombardment of Al Raqqa over the past three weeks has reportedly left civilians terrified and confused about where they can seek refuge,” Mr Al Hussein said.
“Up to 100,000 civilians are effectively trapped as the air and ground offensive intensifies.”
Residents who succeeded in escaping say that ISIL stops civilians leaving by shooting at them or escorting them back to their homes.
“We couldn’t get out. They wouldn’t let us,” said Shaabu, a resident of Raqqa until he managed to escape on Tuesday.
“If we stepped outside we were targeted by snipers. They shot at me once when my friends and I went out to fetch water.” Shaabu had escaped with his family only when Syrian Democratic Forces troops approached his area. Elsewhere in Syria, the Turkish army and the Kurdish YPG militia – the main component of the US-backed SDF – clashed along the Syrian- Turkish border on Tuesday. Ankara, which considers the YPG and SDF to be terrorist groups, said the Kurdish troops attacked pro- Turkey Syrian rebels near the town of Azaz. Turkey used artillery against the YPG in retaliation.
The YPG has been America’s best ally on the ground in Syria, causing tensions between Washington and Ankara. But rather than drop the YPG, as Turkey often urges them to do, the Americans have increased support for it and the broader Syrian alliance. Ankara also made a push to take the lead in the battle for Raqqa, only to see that job go to the SDF.
Brett McGurk, the US special envoy to the coalition against ISIL, was in northern Syria yesterday for a meeting with a council created by the SDF, which aims to run Raqqa after ISIL is forced out of the city. Omar Alloush, a member of the Raqqa Civil Council, said Mr McGurk and other US officials promised to help with infrastructure needs in the city.
“They did not specify any sum but they decided we will support removing mines, lifting rubble, maintenance of schools, then electricity stations and water,” Mr Alloush said.