There is a risk that ISIL group fighters could trickle into Syria as they escape the campaign on the Iraqi city of Mosul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, pledging to take action against the terrorist group banned in Russia.
"At the very least the remaining corridor creates a risk that Daesh fighters could withdraw from Mosul, Iraq into Syria. We of course will assess the situation and make decisions — both political and military — if it happens and if additional Daesh contingents appear in Syria," Lavrov said at a briefing.
The diplomat noted that all countries are interested in defeating the ISIL, and voiced hope that the authors of the campaign to liberate Mosul took into account the operation's humanitarian consequences, citing estimates of up to a million civilians that could be displaced in the aftermath.
"Neither Iraq nor neighboring Syria, or other neighboring countries where these refugees could swarm into, currently have the adequate capacity to accept these numbers. I hope that all this was considered by those who prepared the operation. There are many questions so far," Lavrov stressed.
SPUTNIK/MNA
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