Bashar al-Assad has committed war crimes in Syria with support from Russia: US

A Syrian man checks the site of Syrian government bombardments in Hamouria, in the besieged Eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on Thursday. Pic/AFP

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has committed "war crimes" with Russian support against his own people, the US said on Friday, as it put the Assad regime as well as Russia "on notice" following massive civilian casualties in rebel strongholds of the strife-torn country.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said the US is monitoring the situation in Syria, where more than 400 civilians were killed in the last five days in the regime-led air strikes and bombardments in rebel controlled areas. "Bashar al-Assad has already committed war crimes. He has already gassed his own people with sarin, he has already committed unthinkable acts," Shah told reporters at a news conference, when asked if President Donald Trump believes that Assad is committing "war crimes".

Assad has been committing war crimes with support of the Russians, he claimed. "We don't want that to continue," he said, adding the US is monitoring the situation. "(We) don't want to get ahead of anything that may or may not be announced on that front. But you know the Assad regime and Russia's actions on this front are on notice," he said, when asked what more can Trump do to stop the killings. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told a separate news conference that more than 400 civilians were "horrifically" killed by the Syrian regime. "As we all know, they are backed by not only Russia but also Iran.

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