PARIS (Sputnik) — Hollande ruled out sending ground forces to Syria, which has been engulfed in a civil war since 2011, as "unrealistic and illogical."
"Once the information is gathered by reconnaissance flights, we will be ready to launch strikes against Daesh [alternative name for ISIL]," Hollande told reporters in the French capital.
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces are engaged in a two-front campaign against fragmented opposition fighters and extremist groups, including the Nusra Front and ISIL.
The French leader said he had ordered Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to launch surveillance flights over the Syrian border on September 8 to enable France to carry out anti-ISIL strikes. France currently only participates in airstrikes in Iraq and supplies arms to the so-called moderate opposition in Syria.
