Hillary Clinton accused Russia of sending attack helicopters to Syria in a move that could “dramatically” escalate the conflict, as a senior UN official claimed the country was already in a “civil war”.
In some of the toughest language the US has used about Russia’s support for the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the US secretary of state said Moscow’s claims that its arms transfers to Syria were having no impact on the conflict were “patently untrue”.
The US warning about Russian military interference in Syria came amid reports from the UN that government forces were using helicopters to attack opposition strongholds, as well as tanks and artillery.