Assad’s top aide says Syria should be cleared of all 'occupiers, including Turks'

Duvar English

Bouthaina Shaaban, a high adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has said that al-Assad has no question in his mind that the country should be completely cleared of all "foreign occupiers, including Turks."

Shaaban, who often speaks for Assad, said “our lands should be totally and completely liberated from foreign occupiers, whether they are terrorists, or the Turks or the Americans.”

Assad's top political and media aide made the remaks at her office at Syria's presidential palace in Damascus while giving an interview to NBC News.

Her words came as the Syrian government forces have been pressing on with a fresh operation into Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, which al-Assad has vowed to recapture.

The Syrian war has raged for more than eight years, involving neighbors and superpowers, including Turkey, Iran, the United States and Russia.

The Syrian regime's recent military escalation in Idlib has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and the displacement of at least 80,000 civilians, including 30,000 in the last week alone, according to a statement released by the United Nations on Dec. 23.

Shaaban said in the interview that the war had been "imposed" on Syria. "The war was against Syria, it was not against the president, it was against the country and against the people," she said.

Top aide warns of 'operations' against US troops guarding oil fields

Shaaban also warned of "operations" against American troops guarding Syrian oil fields, saying the U.S. has "absolutely no right" to Syria's oil.

She said during the interview that the U.S. has “absolutely no right; it is our oil.”

“He’s talking about stealing it,” she said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement earlier this year that the U.S. would “keep” Syrian oil.

Trump announced in October that the U.S. would withdraw its troops from northern Syria, but he later approved a mission to secure oil fields in the country.

Shaaban also touched upon the issue of what will happen to suspected members of ISIS that are currently imprisoned in camps in northern Syria over which the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have control. She said it was “likely” that these ISIS prisoners would face trial in Syria.