US-led coalition says it has the right to attack any military forces threatening its partners in Syria
The US-led coalition reserves the right to strike at any forces that are a threat to Coalition's forces and its partners, as stated by the official spokesman for the coalition, Ryan Dillon, Interfax news agency reports.
"We reserve[d] that right for any force that presents a threat, whether it is ISIS or anybody else," Dillon said responding to a question by Interfax.
Earlier the US-led coalition once again struck a blow against pro-government forces in southern Syria. The coalition’s statement said that its forces do not intend to fight with pro-government forces in Syria, but are ready to defend themselves in the event that "pro-regime forces refuse to leave the conflict prevention zone."
"The Coalition destroyed additional pro-Syrian regime forces that advanced inside the established de-escalation zone in southern Syria, June 6," the coalition statement said on Tuesday.
Dillon stated that the coalition characterizes the forces that had been struck near Al-Tanf, as "forces of the Bashar Assad regime."
“There were pro-regime forces that went inside the de-confliction zone, so, yes, Assad regime forces," he clarified while answering a question regarding who was in the pro-government forces that the coalition struck.
In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the strike in the south of Syria is an aggressive act that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.