US pretext of self-defense in Syria false, Russian UN envoy says

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Oct 2023 21:38

Russia disputes the claims that the US is making about defending its interests in Syria, underlining that its actions do not fall into the category of "self-defense".

Workers clean up destruction in the Yarmouk camp in Damascus, Syria, November 2, 2022 (AP)

The United States claiming that its actions in Syria qualify as self-defense is invalid, Russia's representative at the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, said on Monday.

"The United States' argument that it is defending itself in Syria is invalid, as Syria is thousands of kilometers away from the United States," Nebenzia told a session of the UN Security Council.

This comes after the US representative at the United Nations, Linda Greenfield, threatened a military response to what she described as "escalatory actions" by Syria against her forces and against "Israel" with support from Iran and Hezbollah.

In reality, Nebenzia underlined, "the United States is protecting its own interests at the expense of the Syrian people, posing a clear threat to the entire region's security."

"American forces have targeted vital civilian centers in Syria, posing a serious threat to the lives of innocent civilians, and we are not talking here about a threat to UN airspace responsible for humanitarian aid transport," he added.

Nebenzia recalled that in October, the US forces, under Biden's orders, struck the city of Bukamal in Syria, claiming that the attack was in self-defense despite the fact that it occurred thousands of kilometers away from US territory.

By doing so, he explained, "the United States is escalating tensions in the region in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and actions of this nature come with many risks, as they signal the potential expansion of the conflict to encompass the entire region."

Airstrikes on Syria

Last week, the Pentagon confirmed that the United States had carried out strikes against targets in eastern Syria in response to an uptick in attacks by Iran's "proxy forces" against US forces in Iraq and Syria.

"Washington's illegitimate actions are a gross violation of Syrian sovereignty. There is a sharp increase in tensions around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and these kinds of actions are fraught with complicated issues because it might provoke a spillover to the entire region. This must not be deemed acceptable," Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting.

US President Joe Biden offers what the White House dubbed as "legal justification" for US airstrikes against a sovereign state, Syria, earlier this week.

According to the White House, the airstrikes which targeted Syrian territory earlier this week were a rightful response to the attacks against US forces in occupation bases in the region.

The White House said the US' attacks were lawful for two reasons. Firstly, because they were in line with presidential war powers, and secondly, the US claimed it had a right to defend its bases.

Biden, in his letter, stated, “At my direction, on the night of October 26, 2023, United States forces conducted targeted strikes against facilities in eastern Syria,” claiming to target sites used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and “affiliated groups”; a claim later denied by the IRGC.

It is worth noting that Resistance groups, dubbed "affiliated groups" by the US, are legally present in Syria based on a mutual agreements and understanding between the groups and the Syrian government. Similarly, any Iranian personnel or group present in Syria also abides by agreements established with the Syrian government.

The strikes, Biden said, "were intended to establish deterrence and were conducted in a manner to limit the risk of escalation and avoid civilian casualties," describing them as "necessary and proportionate."

US occupation bases in Iraq, Syria come under drone, rocket attacks

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claimed on Thursday that the US military struck two facilities in eastern Syria allegedly used by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups.

"The precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17," Austin said in a statement.

It is worth noting that rockets were launched toward the US base in the al-Omar oil field northeast of Deir Ezzor, eastern Syria, shortly after the airstrike, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported.

Sources to Al Mayadeen said that six rockets were launched from the Syrian Dessert, specifically from the area between al-Mayadin and al-Bukamal. Furthermore, sources confirmed that the area targeted by the US airstrikes does not contain any weapons storage facilities.