France launches air strikes against IS in Syria as Putin warns America to keep out

France has launched air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria in an effort to stem its growing presence there, it was announced on Sunday. The president’s office said the strikes hit targets identified during reconnaissance missions conducted over the past fortnight. “We will strike each time that our national security is at stake,” French president Francois Hollande said in a statement. Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin on Sunday upped the political ante by claiming that U.S. support for rebel forces in Syria was illegal and ineffective. He claimed U.S.-trained rebels were leaving to join Islamic State with weapons supplied by Washington.

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.

Francois Hollande

The escalation comes as Syria dominates the agenda at the UN general assembly in New York, where concern grows over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. On Monday, Mr Putin will outline his plan for ending the country’s four-year civil war, notably the idea of expanding a coalition, which would include Assad’s army, to fight Islamic State. However, other leaders, such as Britain’s David Cameron, say the war will only be resolved by a political agreement, which includes removing Mr Assad from power. Meanwhile, the Iraq military announced on Sunday it would begin sharing “security and intelligence” information with Russia, Syria and Iran to help combat the advances of the Islamic State group.

The Russians think the biggest problem is the Islamic State and the way to fix it is that people should stop fighting Bashar al-Assad and should help him. The American/Turkish/Saudi position is Bashar al-Assad is the biggest problem.

Robert Ford, former US ambassador to Syria

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