03:03Turkey: 'Bombing Raqqa was legitimate self-defence' - French FM Fabius
French airstrikes launched on the Syrian city of Raqqa, a site largely in control of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), on Sunday evening, was an act of "legitimate self-defence," French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius claimed during a presser on the side-lines of the G20 summit in Antalya, Monday.
Speaking in reference to French President Francois Hollande's comments that the reaction to Friday's Paris attacks would be "merciless," Fabius said that "merciless doesn't mean being irresponsible or anything of the sort, but the sort of decisions that have been taken at home reflect the strength of our response and the way in which we are going to respond and also what we're going to abroad reflects this determination."
He added that IS, who have claimed the Paris attacks, were not "hitting us for what we are doing but what we are, we are people who do not accept their ideology." He added that the whole world feels like this, "hence these manifestations of solidarity."
Sunday's airstrikes included 10 French fighter jets flying out of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to drop 20 bombs on the largely city of Raqqa, purportedly hitting a purported command centre, a munitions depot, a "jihadi recruitment centre," and a training camp for fighters. Local activist footage shows several purported civilian buildings destroyed in the airstrikes.
03:03French airstrikes launched on the Syrian city of Raqqa, a site largely in control of the so-called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), on Sunday evening, was an act of "legitimate self-defence," French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius claimed during a presser on the side-lines of the G20 summit in Antalya, Monday.
Speaking in reference to French President Francois Hollande's comments that the reaction to Friday's Paris attacks would be "merciless," Fabius said that "merciless doesn't mean being irresponsible or anything of the sort, but the sort of decisions that have been taken at home reflect the strength of our response and the way in which we are going to respond and also what we're going to abroad reflects this determination."
He added that IS, who have claimed the Paris attacks, were not "hitting us for what we are doing but what we are, we are people who do not accept their ideology." He added that the whole world feels like this, "hence these manifestations of solidarity."
Sunday's airstrikes included 10 French fighter jets flying out of the United Arab Emirates and Jordan to drop 20 bombs on the largely city of Raqqa, purportedly hitting a purported command centre, a munitions depot, a "jihadi recruitment centre," and a training camp for fighters. Local activist footage shows several purported civilian buildings destroyed in the airstrikes.