Paris prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into French government accusations that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government has committed crimes against humanity.
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French President Francois Hollande echoed Obama’s call in his United Nations speech, but Putin – a long-time Assad ally – dismissed their pleas, saying they “should not be involved in choosing the leadership of another country“.
An estimated 250,000 individuals have been killed in Syria’s 4-yr civil struggle between Assad’s troops, insurgent teams and Islamic State militants, and an extra eleven million displaced.
The poll showed 67 percent in favor of President Francois Hollande’s decision to extend air strikes against Islamic State to Syria. Beyond military objectives, the strikes serve to bolster France’s position in helping to find a solution to a crisis that also includes Russian Federation and Iran.
Since Hollande’s election in 2012, European Union authorities have allowed France to twice delay the date by which it would bring its deficit within the European Union target.
France’s first air strike on the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group in Syria killed at least 30 jihadists, including 12 child soldiers, a monitoring group said on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin derided USA efforts to end the Syria war, which has driven a tide of refugees into neighboring states and Europe.
France is striking a tough global posture over Assad in the latest twist to the Syrian tragedy, with foreign minister Fabius opening this prosecution and revealing the archive, and insisting Assad is not part of any post-war solution.
France made the announcement about the investigation Wednesday, shortly after the subject of Syria was discussed at the United Nations General Assembly, according to Yahoo! A US defense official told The Associated Press that the airstrikes took place near Homs – Syria’s largest provinces that borders Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
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In his statement Sunday, Hollande said: “Civilian populations must be protected from all forms of violence, that of IS and other terrorist groups but also the murderous bombardments of Bashar Assad”. Saudi Arabia has threatened to remove Assad militarily if he does not relinquish power.
