Syria’s Assad vows support for Kurds resisting Turkish assault

President Bashar Assad said on Tuesday that Syria would support Kurdish fighters in the northeast of the war-torn country against Turkish soldiers and their Syrian proxies.

“We are prepared to support any group carrying out popular resistance against the Turkish aggression,” he said in a video shared by the presidency.

“This is not a political decision… We are not taking any political decisions now,” he told government troops on the frontline in the Idlib province, AFP reported. “It is a constitutional duty and a national duty.”

Ankara and its Syrian proxies launched a cross-border attack against Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria on October 9 after an announced US military pullout.