US warns Assad may not be long for Syria

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. has begun to take steps to organize an international coalition to take action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the U.S.'s top diplomat said Thursday.

Asked if he and President Donald Trump have begun to organize a coalition to depose Assad, Rex Tillerson told reporters "those steps are underway".

Tillerson said there was no doubt Assad is responsible for the chemical attack on the town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib, which the Syrian opposition's health minister said killed at least 100 victims.

“Assad’s role in the future is uncertain clearly and with acts that he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people," Tillerson said.

He further warned Russia, Assad's main benefactor, to "consider carefully their continued support for the Assad regime”.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump warned "something should happen" to Assad, but declined to elaborate what that should be.

“What Assad did is terrible," Trump said. "What happened in Syria is truly one of the egregious crimes and it shouldn’t have happened. And it shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”