President Joe Biden addressed the coup in Syria from the White House on Sunday, calling the removal of President Bashar al-Assad a “fundamental act of justice” and a “moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.”
“After 13 years of civil war in Syria, more than half a century of brutal authoritarian rule by Bashar al-Assad and his father before him, rebel forces have forced Assad to resign his office, flee the country,” he said. “At long last the Assad regime has fallen.”
Syrian rebels, led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, took the Syrian capital of Damascus late on Saturday. Biden said that the overthrow of Assad created a “moment of risk and uncertainty” in the region and shared that he planned to support Syria’s neighbors to mitigate some risks of destabilization.
To that end, Biden said the U.S. conducted dozens of “precision air strikes” on camps run by the Islamic State group, in the hopes of preventing the group from taking advantage of the power vacuum in Syria.
“ISIS will try and take advantage of any vacuum to reestablish its credibility, and create a safe haven,” Biden said. “We will not let that happen.”
Biden said he’s watching the moves of HTS closely as they begin the process of establishing a new government in Syria. Members of the group have promised safety for minorities within the country, but Biden said his administration will keep a “vigilant” eye on the group that’s been deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.
“Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses,” he said. “As they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions.”
In his speech, Biden also boasted his ongoing support of Israel in that country’s multi-front war against forces in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Israel captured the demilitarized territory along the border between the two countries shortly after Assad fled, claiming that the agreement between the two countries was nullified by the coup.
Watch Biden’s speech below: