There is mounting international condemnation following the chemical weapons attack over the weekend on the rebel-held town of Douma, which killed more than 40 people and injured hundreds more.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump warned there would be “a big price to pay” for the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons on Douma near Damascus. He said on Monday that he would make a decision in the next 24 to 48 hours about whether to retaliate militarily. He also suggested that Russia and Iran may also be responsible. US forces fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syria air base a year ago after a gas attack killed more than 80 people, the first direct American assault on forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the conflict in Syria began in 2011.
Douma is part of the Eastern Ghouta suburbs, the area that has been under intense bombardment by pro-Assad forces. The government offensive to retake the last rebel-held territory near Damascus has killed more than 1,600 people and displaced more than 100,000.
Syria and its ally Russia have denied the use of chemical weapons in Douma and accused opposition groups of fabricating the attack.
While Mr Trump has said he wants the 2,000 or so American troops out of Syria “very soon,” his administration is likely to be considering a targeted military strike in order to deter the use of chemical weapons. US retaliatory air strikes, however, risk triggering a military confrontation between Russia and the US.
The seven-year war in Syria has killed half a million people and dispersed millions more as refugees. It has also sucked in global powers including Iran, Israel, Russia, Turkey and the US, which seek to advance their interests.
Russia intervened militarily to back Mr Assad in 2015 and shifted the balance of the war in Mr Assad’s favour. Moscow considers Syria its strategic foothold in the Middle East. The Lebanese militant Hizbollah group and Iranian forces have provided crucial ground support to the regime. Israel has vowed to take action against activities by Iran and its proxies that it deems threatening to its security. Turkey invaded the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria, seizing it last month, and has threatened to move east to areas where US troops are based. The US has formed an alliance with a Kurdish-led militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to fight the jihadists of the Islamic State. Russia and Turkey support different sides in the war, but they have recently moved closer on Syria.
The already tense situation in the region was further inflamed early Monday morning by an attack reportedly conducted by Israel on a Syrian air base.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead
