WASHINGTON, Dec 16, 2024 (AFP) - President-elect Donald Trump characterized the rebel ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad by Ankara-backed rebels as an "unfriendly takeover" by US ally Turkey as he addressed the conflict at a news conference Monday.

"I think Turkey is very smart... Turkey did an unfriendly takeover, without a lot of lives being lost. I can say that Assad was a butcher, what he did to children," Trump told reporters at his residence in Florida.