Saudi Arabia is ready to join any ground operation the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria might decide on, a general from the kingdom said on Thursday.
Advertisement
Saudi Arabia is ready to send ground troops into Syria to fight ISIS because airstrikes alone will fail to defeat the evil militants.
Human Rights Watch, criticizing the move, said Yemeni authorities had neither investigated nor prosecuted serious worldwide crimes committed since 2011, “nor has the Saudi-led coalition investigated possible war crimes by its forces”. Today, Saudi Arabia pledged an additional $100 million in funding at the global donors’ conference in London.
“We did not stop our operation in Syria in spite of the operation we have in Yemen”, Assiri said.
Asiri is yet to confirm how many troops the kingdom will send.
“Regional countries must bear part of the burden” of such an intervention, he said.
The pledge came after two suicide bomb attacks targeting a Shiite mosque in the Kingdom late last month that killed two people, and injured seven more.
Gargash also suggested the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen could be “an alternative model” to Western intervention in the region.
Asked about the report at a briefing, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the coalition is generally supportive of having partners contribute more in the fight against Islamic State but he had not seen the reported Saudi proposal.
Human Rights Watch said the United States and Britain, both allies of Saudi Arabia, had given only tentative backing to the Dutch resolution.
Advertisement
The advance – backed by Russian air strikes – saw the army break a three year siege of two government controlled towns in the area – Nubul and Zahraa – which were previously surrounded by opposition territory.
