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| Article 51 gives the right of self-defense in the case of an armed attack against a UN member state. |
Le Drian said that French jets would launch airstrikes against Daesh targets in Syria “in the coming weeks, as soon as they have clearly identified targets."
He refused to give more details about the strikes that President Francois Hollande said Monday might be “necessary”.
“I will not tell you our plans, it would be a tactical error,” Le Drian said.
He denied that there was any agreement between France and Bashar al-Assad’s regime to allow French jets to fly over Syrian territory without being exposed to anti-aircraft fire.
“Every air operation is risky and we are taking necessary steps to avoid dangers that our pilots face there,” Le Drian said.
France has been carrying out reconnaissance flights over Syria since Sept. 8 to locate Daesh command centers in preparation for possible airstrikes against the terrorist group in Syria.
Potential air strikes were justified Wednesday by Hollande as self-defense under Article 51 of the UN charter.
“The strikes… fall under the right of self-defense in the face of direct threats to France’s security, particularly coming from Syria and Daesh,” government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said, citing Hollande’s statement to the Council of Ministers.
Article 51 gives the right of self-defense in the case of an armed attack against a UN member state.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Manuel Valls ruled out sending ground troops to Syria although he said France might provide support to coalition forces against Daesh.
He added that the reconnaissance missions would likely last for several weeks.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France had not yet decided to conduct airstrikes against Daesh inside Syria and would limit its aerial operations to reconnaissance flights for the present.
The Syria conflict began in early 2011 when the Assad regime responded with force to popular protests that erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprising.
More than four years of intense fighting has left the country divided between pro-Assad forces and a number of heavily armed opposition factions, many of which are opposed militarily to one another.
Roughly half of the country’s population has been displaced by the violence, with over 4 million Syrians now seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
More than 250,000 people have died in the conflict, according to the UN.
Source: Anadolu
