By Lauren Hemenover, Contributing Writer
The U.S., U.K. and France have launched over 100 missiles on what they have deemed to be chemical weapons facilities since April 14 in response to alleged chemical attacks by the Syrian government in Douma. The Guardian reported that UN Secretary General António Guterres told countries involved in the attacks to respond in accordance to international law and the charter of the United Nations.
This is the second time in the past year the U.S. has struck Bashar al-Assad’s military. The Trump Administration has sought to reduce the American footprint in Syria while remaining diligent to the use of any chemical weapons by the Assad Regime. Following the presumed attacks, President Trump said, “America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria. We cannot purge the world of evil or act everywhere there is tyranny,” according to a report by TIME. However, TIME reported that Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a meeting with the U.N Security Council, “If the Assad regime uses chemical weapons again, the U.S. is locked and loaded.”
On April 7, the Syrian Air Force dropped suspected chemical bombs in Douma, near Damascus, where the last remaining Syrian opposition group was located. The Syrian government and Russia denied the use of chemical weapons following the attack and accused the rebels of staging the entire episode with British assistance.
According to CBS News, first responders “entered apartments in Douma late Saturday afternoon and found bodies collapsed on floors, some foaming at the mouth.” The Syrian Civil Defense Group reported a death toll of 42 citizens, which contrasts greatly with the 80 civilian deaths reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Of the U.S. missile strike in response, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, told TIME reporters, “These are the best targets that presented the best opportunity to minimize collateral damage, to avoid killing innocent civilians and to send a very strong message.”
It cannot be predicted what events are going to consequently unfold from these attacks and the rising tensions of Syria’s civil war, but in the meantime the U.N. will continue its efforts in inspecting and securing the sites of the chemical attacks in Douma, as reported by the Associated Press.
