Syria vows to fight rebels despite U.S. warning not to advance southwest

A Syrian state-run newspaper said Monday that the government will keep fighting “terrorists” despite U.S. warnings against a new offensive against rebels in southern Daraa province, while Russia said Syrian troops should deploy in the country’s southwest, near Israel.Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Syrian troops should be positioned on the border with the Golan Heights, which have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Mideast war. The area between Daraa and the Golan Heights has emerged as a flashpoint in a wider standoff between Israel and Iran, and the United States has warned it will take action to protect a cease-fire there.The Al-Baath daily said in an editorial published Monday that the U.S. threat underscores the “dirty American role in the terrorist war” against Syria. It stressed that the Syrian army was determined to retake all parts of Syria.The United States, Russia, and Jordan agreed last year to include Daraa in a “de-escalation zone” and freeze the lines of conflict there. But the area has been tense following a series of recent Israeli strikes on Syrian and Iranian forces. Iran is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and its advisers are embedded with his troops.

 

Source: Syria vows to fight rebels despite U.S. warning not to advance southwest – Syria – Haaretz.com

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