On March 4, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad told reporters that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) will continue its military operation against the militants in the East Ghouta pocket. The president also stressed that the SAA will also work to evacuate the trapped civilians to the government-held areas.
“We didn’t start now in Ghouta, we started the fight against terrorism since the first day everywhere, we started in Aleppo, in Homs, in Deir Ezzor … and Ghouta operation is a continuation of the fight against terrorism in any place,” Assad said, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
When asked about the Western allegation regarding the SAA use of chemical weapons, Assad said that these allegations are a part of a the Western “dictionary of lies,” and described it as a “mere blackmail” that the West resorted to strike the SAA.
“Certainly, the West is working from the very first day of the war in Syria to have a justification for launching a full-scale war on the country [Syria], but I emphasize that this [chemical] weapon does not exist and that this lie or deception cannot pass,” Assad said.
The president went on and described the US-led coalition as “ISIS’ air force” and questioned its war on the terrorist group while answering another question about the collation’s war crimes. Assad also accused the West of openly supporting different terrorist organizations including the al-Nusra Front, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“All the masks that existed at the beginning of the war no longer exist, everyone is playing its role clearly, the West supports ISIS now, the West is defending the al-Nusra Front, and ISIS and similar extremist and terrorist organizations without any shame under titles that are no longer convincing even for their public opinion,” said Assad.
Assad’s statements confirm that the SAA and its allies are going to complete their mission in the East Ghouta pocket despite attempts to prevent this by the West and the mainstream media.