Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad Claims U.S. Strikes on ISIS Had Little Effect

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad downplayed the effectiveness of the U.S.-led coalition strikes on the Islamic State in Syria in an interview with the French magazine Paris Match on Wednesday.

“It’s we who are battling against ISIS on the ground, and we haven’t sensed any change,” Assad told Paris Match, as cited by the Los Angeles Times.

Assad also claimed the U.S.-led air strikes in Syria were an “illegal intervention.”

Thus far the Obama Administration has engaged in an aerial campaign against the militants and has not committed ground troops to the effort.

Assad said the notion that the U.S-led airstrikes had helped his regime was “incorrect.” He also re-emphasized his accusation that Turkey was giving weapons, logistical support and other assistance to ISIS.

“We haven’t sensed any change [in ISIS’s strength], especially since Turkey is still providing direct support to ISIS in those areas.”

He went on to claim that the U.S. had helped create the Islamic State, dismissing claims that Syria’s military had allowed it to flourish.

“In reality, Islamic State was created in Iraq in 2006. It was the United States which occupied Iraq, not Syria,” he said. “So who created Islamic State? Syria or the United States?”

In a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that over two months of bombing ISIS had slowed its military momentum, but said that the battle to defeat ISIS could take years.

Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons Facilities Hit by Delays

U.N. diplomats said that the destruction of Syria’s 12 chemical weapons facilities in Syria is expected to start later this month, but expressed concern that Syria hasn’t made a full declaration of its chemical weapons capabilities, the AP reports.

“There are still some issues that need to be resolved in that declaration,” said British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

“The delay in destroying the sites was partly caused by trouble in finding a commercial contractor to carry out the work,” Reuters writes.

In October, Syria declared an additional four chemical weapons facilities it hadn’t previously disclosed, prompting fears that the weapons could fall in the hands of extremist groups like ISIS.

Although the U.N.’s joint mission with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has ended, diplomats have called for “close monitoring” of Syria’s chemical weapons. Syria’s U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari dismissed the proposal.

According to the U.N. and the OPCW, 1,300 tons of Syria’s declared stockpile have been removed, and 97 percent have been destroyed.

The U.N. fact-finding mission concluded that a toxic chemical was “systematically and repeatedly” used as a weapon in northern Syria earlier this year. A separate OPCW report on allegations of chlorine attacks in Syria is due later this month.

Syrian Refugees Prepare for Freezing Temperatures, Face Poverty and Hostility

Syrian refugees across the Middle East are preparing for a freezing winter, widespread hunger and escalating tension from locals as neighboring governments struggle to cope with the worsening humanitarian crisis, Reuters reports.

Lebanon and Jordan have tightened their borders in response to staggering numbers of Syrians fleeing the conflict. In Lebanon, refugees make up a quarter of the population, fueling hostilities between locals and refugee populations that have resulted in a surge of attacks on Syrian refugees.

“As many as 100,000 Syrians have returned from Jordan rather than face discrimination and destitution,” according to the United Nations.

“There is a great difference between our son being born in his country and born here in such a miserable conditions and this cold weather. The cold is biting for us, let alone for a newborn,” a Jordanian refugee told Reuters.

Turkey has spent nearly $4 billion on aid and has called for an enforced “secure zone” inside Syria to help house over 1.2 million refugees.

The World Food Programme suspended food aid to 1.7 million refugees this week due to lack of funding.

Recommended Reads:

• CBS: Syria ‘Systematically Using Chemical Weapons’
• Guardian: Australia Exercises New Security Laws and Bans Travel to Part of Syria
• Los Angeles Times: Syria’s Assad Downplays U.S. Strikes on Islamic State
• Buzzfeed: UK’s Decision Not to Bomb Syria Discouraged Obama, Says BBC’S Middle East Editor
• Al Monitor: Israelis Raise Funds for Syrian Children
• AP: Inside Kobani: Kurdish Women on the Frontline
• AP: UNESCO Wants Ban on Iraq, Syria Art Trafficking

Courtesy of AP Images