Daesh downfall ‘matter of if, not when’: UK Foreign Sec

LONDON

Daesh is now "failing and disintegrating" as multiple armed forces advance on its positions in Syria and Iraq, according to the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Thursday.

"Daesh are in retreat on every battlefront in Iraq and Syria. After so much bloodshed, their downfall is not a matter of if but when," Johnson told the House of Commons.

He said Turkey’s role had been critical in pushing back the group and criticized Russia and the regime of Bashar al-Assad for prolonging the civil war rather than focusing on Daesh.

"Wherever Daesh has lost ground in Syria, this has frequently owed nothing to Assad or his backers," Johnson said.

"The lesson is clear: while Assad, Russia and Iran inflict untold suffering on eastern Aleppo, it is Turkey and the moderate Syrian opposition who are pressing on with the task of defeating Daesh."

Johnson went on to say that Daesh's propaganda output had fallen by around 70% in the last year.

"As one defeat succeeds another, they are increasingly being seen for what they are - a failing and disintegrating movement."

In recent days Iraqi forces have reached the outskirts of Mosul, the group's last stronghold in the country, while Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army forces continue to fight Daesh in Syria.

Johnson called Mosul operation "a vital chapter" in the struggle against Daesh, albeit "not the final one."

However, he warned British lawmakers against having any "false hopes."

"Despite our efforts, and despite our progress, Daesh remains determined and fanatical. Their defeat will require the liberation of Raqqa, their stronghold in Syria," he said.

Referring to the wider civil war in Syria, the secretary said the U.K. would be pushing for a UN resolution to pursue those in Daesh and the Syrian regime, who have used chemical weapons during the conflict, calling on Russia not to use its veto power.

"If Russia chooses once again to protect Assad by casting its veto then it will be shielding someone whose forces have been found guilty over and over again by a UN investigation, which the Kremlin itself supported, of killing their own people with poison gas," he said.