Summary
We’re going to pause our live coverage of the Syria strikes there. Here’s where things stand:
- At the United Nations, the security council rejected a Russian resolution condemning “the aggression” against Syria by the United States and its allies. Only three countries - Russia itself, plus China and Bolivia - backed Moscow’s resolution calling for condemnation of the airstrikes carried out on Friday night. After the vote, the Russian envoy, Vassily Nebenzia said: “Today is a very sad day for the world, the UN, its charter, which was blatantly, blatantly violated.”
- A senior US administration official went further than the Pentagon in saying sarin nerve agent was used by the Assad regime in Douma on 7 April. “We assess that chlorine and sarin were used in the attack,” the official said, pointing as evidence to the nature of the victims’ symptoms, such as the narrowing of pupils in their eyes, and the effects on their nervous systems, along with the sheer lethality of the gas. “Those symptoms don’t come from chlorine - they come from sarin,” she added.
- Syrians remained divided over the airstrikes. Wael Abdullah, a 25-year-old resident of Ghouta, told the Guardian: “This is a great step by President Trump by which he sends a hot message to Bashar Al-Assad that he can’t continue killing his people by all kinds of weapons with the help of the Russians and Iranians.” But Ayad Younis, a 35-year-old teacher in a secondary school in Damascus, said: “This is a blatant aggression against Syria, a staged drama created by the US to attack our land.”
- Western leaders continued to add their voices of support for the US, France and UK airstrikes. “Canada stands with our friends in this necessary response and we condemn in strongest possible terms” the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” Justin Trudeau said on Saturday. Of the European leaders, only Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni warned that while this was a “limited and targeted action ... it cannot and should not be the start of an escalation”.
- The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, described the strikes as an “act of aggression” and said the attack would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said “such actions will not be left without consequences” and that Moscow was being threatened.
- The US ambassador to the UN said Washington was “locked and loaded” to strike again if Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad again uses chemical weapons, at a fiery UN security council meeting in which the Russian ambassador accused the US, UK and France of “diplomatic hooliganism”.
- The US, British and French strikes were aimed at damaging the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities in the wake of last weekend’s gas attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma. Some 105 missiles were fired in total, the Pentagon said.
That’s it from us. Here are our latest stories on the fallout from the strikes:
Syria’s deputy parliamentary speaker said Saturday that he believes western countries could launch new airstrikes on his country using chemical weapons as a pretext.
Najdat Anzour also told the Associated Press that western countries want to resume Syria peace talks in Geneva conditional on drafting a new constitution, holding presidential elections, and forming a cabinet with the participation of armed opposition groups.
Anzour said the pre-conditions were “unacceptable and impossible”.
Mona Mahmood has interviewed Syrians in favor of and opposed to the joint military action.
Wael Abdullah, a 25-year-old resident of Ghouta and who had to flee to the countryside outside Aleppo, told the Guardian:
This is a great step by President Trump by which he sends a hot message to Bashar Al-Assad that he can’t continue killing his people by all kinds of weapons with the help of the Russians and Iranians. We are looking for more to get to the day that we celebrate the toppling of the Syrian regime.
He continued: “We know that these rockets will not stop Bashar and his gangsters in keeping on killing the Syrian people, but they are good to make him aware that there will be a response from now on to all his vicious acts against his innocent people.
“The best thing the US administration can do to the Syrian people is to launch an attack in cooperation with all Syrian factions who have been fighting the regime. We want an all-out war that could put an end to this tragedy. I’m sure the US president and his allies have full knowledge of what is going on Syria. They should not act just when Bashar uses chemical weapons and then leave his hand free.”
In contrast, Ayad Younis, a 35-year-old teacher in a secondary school in Damascus, said:
This is a blatant aggression against Syria, a staged drama created by the US to attack our land. It is incredible that these superpowers would get their information from social networks though they are full of lies and fabrications about the use of chemical weapons against our people in Douma.
He added: “I woke up at midnight with my wife and one year kid to the sound of the explosions. At the beginning, I thought this is thunder but when I opened the window, I found people on the roofs watching what was happening. TV news confirmed that most of the rockets were intercepted and deviated.
“I think the aim of the aggression is to achieve a moral victory for the US which considered itself a super state. If Trump threatens, then he has to fulfill his threats, that is all. This aggression changes nothing in my belief that Syria is winning. I already lost a number of my relatives in our war and these terrorists want to turn Syria to a jungle. Their malicious attempts will be foiled and they will be defeated.
“I denounce this immoral act. We have passed the most seven difficult years in the history of Syria, a couple of rockets won’t change anything on the ground, yet, will encourage us to fight for Syria.”
A senior administration official on Saturday went further than the Pentagon in saying sarin nerve agent was used by the Assad regime in Douma on 7 April.
“We assess that chlorine and sarin were used in the attack,” the official said, pointing as evidence to the nature of the victims’ symptoms, such as the narrowing of pupils in their eyes, and the effects on their nervous systems, along with the sheer lethality of the gas.
“Those symptoms don’t come from chlorine - they come from sarin,” she added.
Officials said that there was evidence that chlorine and sarin have been used by the regime on multiple occasions since the last US air strikes in April 2017, and expressed anger at Russia for blocking all other attempts to rein Bashar al-Assad’s behaviour, at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and at the UN security council, where Russia voted six times to stop the continuation of UN watchdog body empowered to investigate chemical weapons attacks and attribute responsibility for carrying them out.
“Russia has failed,” the senior administration official said. “Putin has four years to make good on his commitment to rid Syria of chemical weapons use. The president was not just going to wait around for Russia to mount yet another disinformation campaign that would deflect attention from the fact that Russia is the one that’s enabling Syria to continue on with this behaviour.”
Russia loses vote condemning strikes
Russia has been defeated in its bid to have the US, France and UK airstrikes condemned in the UN security council.
Only three countries - Russia itself, plus China and Bolivia - backed Moscow’s resolution calling for condemnation of the “aggression” by the United States and its allies against Syria.
With eight countries voting against, and four abstentions - Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Peru and Equitorial Guinea - the failure of the Russian resolution was a stinging diplomatic defeat for Moscow.
After the vote, the Russian envoy, Vassily Nebenzia said: “Today is a very sad day for the world, the UN, its charter, which was blatantly, blatantly violated.”
The failure of the resolution confirms how isolated Russia has become on the Syrian issue.
This week, Russia used its veto power for the 12th time to block action in the security council over Syria, including four attempts to establish investigations of chemical weapons use in the country’s seven-year war.
There are five permanent members of the security council – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US - and 10 rotating members, currently Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, and Sweden.
Updated
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, is demanding a vote on a resolution that would condemn “the aggression” against Syria by the United States and its allies.
But Russia’s demand, which calls for military action to stop “immediately and without delay”, will almost certainly be rejected when the resolution is voted on in the Security Council later today.
The Canadian prime minister and several European leaders have added their support for the US-led airstrikes against Syrian chemical weapons targets.
“Canada stands with our friends in this necessary response and we condemn in strongest possible terms” the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” Justin Trudeau said on Saturday.
European council president Donald Tusk, one of the key leaders of the EU, added his voice to the denunciations of Russia and Iran’s support for the Assad regime.
“Strikes by US, France and UK make it clear that Syrian regime together with Russia & Iran cannot continue this human tragedy, at least not without cost. The EU will stand with our allies on the side of justice,” Tusk tweeted.
Bulgaria, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said: “The strike on Syrian targets was a response to a war crime.”
German chancellor Angela Merkel described the strikes as a “necessary and appropriate in order to preserve the effectiveness of the international ban on the use of chemical weapons and to warn the Syrian regime against further violations”.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Union commission president Jean-Claude Juncker – another EU leader – also issued statements supporting the action.
But Italian premier Paolo Gentiloni warned that while this was a “limited and targeted action ... it cannot and should not be the start of an escalation”.
Here Julian Borger assesses how dangerous this moment of conflict is for the globe:
Summary
- The US launched military strikes alongside UK and French forces on Saturday morning aimed at damaging the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities in the wake of last weekend’s gas attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma. Some 105 missiles were fired in total, the Pentagon said.
- Moments after Donald Trump finished his address on Friday night, reports emerged of explosions in Damascus at about 2am BST (9pm ET). A Pentagon briefing later confirmed three sites were hit: two in Damascus and one in Homs. The sites were all regarded as being linked to the storage, or testing, of chemical weapons. Syrian air defences responded to the strikes but the US said it had suffered no losses in the initial airstrikes.
- The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, described the strikes as an “act of aggression” and said the attack would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said “such actions will not be left without consequences” and that Moscow was being threatened.
-
The US ambassador to the UN said Washington was “locked and loaded” to strike again if Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad again uses chemical weapons, at a fiery UN security council meeting in which the Russian ambassador accused the US, UK and France of “diplomatic hooliganism”.
If you want to read more about today’s developments, read this:
If you you want to read more about the world’s reaction to the strikes in Syria, read this:
Thanks for reading. I am handing over the blog to my colleague Edward Helmore.
Updated
Nato backs US, UK and France airstrikes in Syria
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said all members of the organisation back this morning’s airstrikes conducted by the US, the UK and France following a meeting of the North Atlantic Council - the principal political decision-making body of Nato.
The United States, France and Britain told Nato envoys on Saturday their coordinated air strikes on Syrian government targets overnight were a last resort and aimed to stop more chemical attacks, the alliance’s chief said.
The three allies briefed Nato ambassadors at a special session at the alliance headquarters and won support from the other 26 Nato members, who sought more diplomatic pressure to uphold an international ban on poison gas attacks like the one the West believes Syria conducted on April 7 in Douma.
The strikes “degraded the capabilities of Syria to conduct new attacks and at the same time send a clear message which deters further attacks”, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference after the meeting.
“We will never have a total guarantee against new attacks as long as we have regimes which are willing to use chemical weapons,” he said. “Chemical weapons cannot be used with impunity and cannot be normalised.”
Nato was not involved in the strikes.
In a separate statement, Nato envoys called on Syria, Russia and Iran to allow “rapid, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access” to areas targeted in Syria’s seven-year-old war.
Updated
The UK ambassador to the UN, Karen Pierce, told the security council meeting there had been “clear boundaries” in the action that had been taken in an attempt to avoid escalation.
She said repeated attempts to hold the Syrian regime to account had been met with Russian “obstruction and resistance”.
“We have repeatedly in this council attempted to overcome this obstruction, without success,” she said.
“We are faced with a litany of violations, no sense of guilt, no sense of regret, no sense of responsibility, a shameful record wrapped in a mix of denial, deceit and disinformation.”
Pierce finished by adding: “I will take no lessons in international law from Russia.”
Updated
In Brussels, where officials have been watching developments closely, all eyes are on Russia’s possible reaction. One senior minister, who preferred to remain unnamed, said while it thought Moscow would pursue diplomatic channels in the coming days, a more strident response could not be ruled out.
“There is definitely concern over what Russia will do but for the moment it seems they will not react militarily,” said the official who holds a post at the highest levels of the European Commission.
“We’ve been meeting this afternoon to discuss reaction and the feeling is Moscow will definitely do something beyond the diplomatic although what no one knows. It can turn off gas [supplies to Europe] or ratchet up tensions in the Ukraine again.”
Updated
US "locked and loaded" if Syria uses chemical weapons again - US ambassador to UN
The United States is “locked and loaded” to strike again if Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad’s government again uses chemical weapons, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the security council on Saturday.
“We are confident that we have crippled Syria’s chemical weapons program. We are prepared to sustain this pressure, if the Syrian regime is foolish enough to test our will,” she said.
“If the Syrian regime uses this poison gas again, the United States is locked and loaded,” Haley said.
.@USUN Ambassador Nikki Haley: "The United Kingdom, France and the United States acted to deter the future use of chemical weapons by holding the Syrian regime responsible for its atrocities against humanity." pic.twitter.com/7BADX7obJr
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 14, 2018
Updated
Cyprus’ respected former foreign minister Ioannis Kassoulides has described the wait for the airstrikes “as more painful than the strike itself.” Four RAF Tornados took off from Akrotiri, in the island’s south armed with Storm shadow missiles, around 3 AM before returning to base less than two hours later after firing eight missiles at a chemicals weapons facility near Homs.
“I believe that it will be forgotten in the coming days, also by those wishing to book their holidays in Cyprus,” he said shortly before the British prime minister Theresa May called her Cypriot counterpart president Nicos Anastasiades to brief him on the military action.
Earlier, the government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou had predicted that the strikes would be “ a face saving” exercised aimed. squarely. at sending a message to the Syrian regime and Russia.
Updated
Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya has said the US-led strikes in Syria were “an act of aggression” against a sovereign state, accusing the UK, France and the US of “diplomatic hooliganism” and showing a blatant disregard for international law.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres spoke at the start of the meeting. He called on all members of the security council to show restraint and avoid further escalation in Syria. He said Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspectors are in Syria and ready to inspect the site of last Saturday’s chemical attack near Damascus.
The OPCW confirmed this a short while ago.
🔴 BREAKING: #OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team has arrived in Damascus, #Syria to commence its work.
— OPCW (@OPCW) April 14, 2018
Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian ambassador to the UN, is about to share his thoughts.
Updated
The UN security council meeting on Saturday’s strikes in Syria is just about to start. We will bring you the key developments.
Photos of the aftermath of the strikes on the Syrian Scientific Research Centre near Damascus have been taken during press tour organised by the Syrian information ministry on Saturday.
Updated
Melania Trump has joined her husband in thanking the US military, although she does not mention the strikes in Syria directly.
1/2: Thank you to the strong & courageous members of our U.S. military all over the world! Your continued contributions & commitment to the safety of our great nation will never go unnoticed or unappreciated.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 14, 2018
2/2: And to all military families, especially the children, thank you for your sacrifice. #monthofthemilitarychild 🇺🇸
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 14, 2018
Russia has proposed a draft United Nations security council resolution that would condemn “the aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic by the U.S. and its allies in violation of international law and the U.N. Charter”, Reuters are reporting.
It was not immediately clear when it could be put to a vote. It was unlikely to get the minimum nine votes needed to force a veto by the United States, France or Britain, said diplomats. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States to pass.
Read more about the Russian response to the strikes here:
Over at the RAF base in Akrotiri, Cyprus it is business as usual barely 12 hours after four Tornados returned from their overnight bombing mission.
Within hours of the strikes, the sleepy village outside the British base had returned to its somnolent ways: parents taking their kids to weekend dances, the elderly pegging clothes to washing lines, locals downing beers in the Swan pub.
By midday, long before US president Trump tweeted “mission accomplished,” the roar of the four Syria-bound Tornados flying overhead was a distant memory. “We woke up with all the noise but that’s nothing new here,” said Giorgos Xenophontas, serving bar food at the Swan. “Usually it’s two, [fighter bombers] not four, flying out at the same time and 3am is an unusual hour but it’s kinda over now and forgotten.”
Giorgos Philippou, who owns the fish and chip shop in the village with his English wife, Shaniece, dismissed fears of Russian retaliation widely circulated in the media. “We’ve heard a lot about that here,” he quipped. “But I don’t think there is anyone who seriously believes it would happen. Why would they strike here and not stage a counter attack in Britain? ”
Others, however, were concerned that Russia would at some point react – and that the village - population 1,000 - could be hit. Security concerns have grown as sorties out of the base by bomber jets targeting Islamic State sites in Syria and Iraq have also risen.
“Everyone worries, especially those with children, that there could be some kind of punishment,” said Bambos Charalambos, 44, a public works employee with the Cypriot government. “They just prefer to keep quiet because most in Akrotiri work at the base and, in some way, are dependent on it.”
Locals still have vivid memories of a RAF tornado jet losing two missiles mid-air in July 2015 as it prepared to land back at base on Cyprus. “Lucky for us the missiles didn’t explode,” said Charalambos. “It was really frightening. Russia could react one day and miss the base and target us instead.”
Our world affairs editor, Julian Borger, has written this guide to key players int he Syrian conflict.
Read more here:
Our Middle East reporter, Mona Mahmood, has spoken to Amira Jaber, a 46-year-old mother from Homs province in Syria. A chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, and another storage site and command post nearby were hit early on Saturday morning.
She said:
We were sleeping in peace at midnight and then we were surprised by the horrible sounds of the explosions. The target was the centre of research in Homs. It was something very terrifying especially for the kids.
Trump is mentally ill and he won’t scared us with his rockets. I have two sons, one of them was martyred while he was fighting with the Syrian army to liberate Syria of the criminals and terrorists. My other son is a policeman, he is still doing his job to serve his country. We will win as long as our president is Bashar Al-Assad.
Since the morning until now, demonstrations in Homs are going on and people are marching in the streets to confirm that we will stay in Syria and will defend it with the last drop of our blood. I lost my son and I myself am ready to die for Syria and president Bashar. Trump is a beggar and he wants to get more money form the Gulf for attacking Syria.
We were following Trump’s threats but we did not take any precautions, nothing worse can happen than what we have already gone through. He can do whatever he wants to do. In fact, we will celebrate rather than grieve. Trump is trying to cover his failure in proving that the Syrian army used chemical weapons against Douma. All these allegations were used as a pretext to launch this criminal aggression against Syria. If the Syrian army wants to use chemical weapons, it would not be fighting for all these long years to avoid causing harm to any civilians. The war would have been much shorter but whenever the Syrian army achieves a victory on the ground and clean its land of terrorists, the US and its coalitions fabricate lies to attack Syria, something that will never undermine our will and love for our country.
Updated
Airstrikes "unacceptable and lawless" - Russian foreign minister
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has told a press conference the actions of UK, US and France in Syria are “unacceptable and lawless”.
Updated
UK government issues summary of legal advice
The UK government has released a summary of its legal advice authorising air strikes against Syria over its alleged use of chemical weapons, which is certain to be at the centre of controversy in the coming days, not least as parliament comes back.
The advice argues that there were three key legal considerations that had been satisfied: “convincing evidence, generally accepted by the international community as a whole, of extreme humanitarian distress on a large scale, requiring immediate and urgent relief; no practicable alternative to the use of force if lives are to be saved, and that the proposed use of force must be necessary and proportionate to the aim of relief”.
Arguments are most likely to focus in the coming days on the first two conditions.
Syria’s allies, including Russia and Iran, as well as other opponents of the military action will dispute that the “evidence” - in particular the assessment presented by France – is “generally accepted by the international community”, with Russia continuing to stick to its version that the attack was “staged”.
Critics are also likely to home in on the fact that the strikes took place before two teams of chemical weapons inspectors, who had stated their intentional of visiting Douma – the site of last weekend’s attack – were able to do their work and present their reporting which would also inform the issue of “practicable alternative[s] to the use of force”.
The counter argument to these criticisms will be made that Russia, through use of its veto, has made it almost impossible to secure agreement on evidence of culpability or alternatives.
Updated
Asked if Trump’s “mission accomplished” comments were accurate, White says: “Last night’s operations were very successful. We met our objectives. So it was mission accomplished.”
Pressed on the matter, White said: “It was a successful mission. What happened next depends on what the Assad regime decides to do.”
Some Syria chemical weapons infrastructure remains, McKenzie says, but the airstrikes have significantly reduced the country’s chemical weapons capability.
Asked if retaliation is expected, McKenzie said he could not say but added: “We’re ready for it. We’re on the balls of our feet and ready for anything.”
White, Pentagon spokesperson said: “We took action and what happens next is the decision of Assad.”
McKenzie says Russian air defence systems were not deployed. There were no agreements with Russia in advance, he adds.
No Syrian had any impact on anything the US, UK or French forces did, he says.
The Syrian regime knows US was looking at targets so possible some personnel may have left the facilities targeted, McKenzie say. However, the attacks were launched at 3am local time so unlikely many people there.
Updated
Lt Gen McKenzie said “as of now” US not aware of any civilian casualties.
He tells reporters that US belives there were chemical weapons and nerve agents stored on the Barzah research site, that was destroyed by airstrikes.
He said the attacks were launched in such a way as to minimise any fallout by way of dispersal of chemicals into the air.
US, UK, France launched 105 weapons against three targets - Pentagon
The chief pentagon spokesperson, Dana W White, is giving an update alongside Lt Gen Kenneth McKenzie, the director of the Joint Staff (DJS), a senior military adviser to the US president.
White said the attacks were not an attempt to depose the Assad regime and do not signify a shift in US policy.
She said the airstrikes had been launched to “cripple Syria’s ability to use chemical weapons in the future” and had “successfully hit every target”.
She insisted the strikes did not “represent a change in US policy or an attempt to depose the Syrian regime” and that the US focus was to defeat the Islamic State terror group.
But, she added: “We cannot allow such grievous violations of international law.”
McKenzie took reporters through the airstrikes, saying 105 weapons were deployed against targets. He said the strikes will deter use of chemical weapons in the future.
McKenzie said: “I’d use three words to describe this operation - precise, overwhelming and effective.”
Updated
Theresa May’s argument for bombing in Syria is “nonsensical” argues Andrew Adonis, the Labour peer, in the Guardian.
Theresa May’s essential argument that the bombing in Syria in the early hours of Saturday was “strong enough to deter but weak enough not to provoke the Russians” is so obviously nonsensical it explains why she didn’t wish to make it in parliament.
This was “gesture bombing” of carefully selected second-order military installations, to be seen to be doing something – but not too much – in response to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s apparent chemical weapons attack, enabled by the Russians, on civilians in the Damascus enclave of Douma last week.
Read more here:
Trump on Syria strikes: "Mission accomplished!"
The US president is awake and tweeting.
A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military. Could not have had a better result. Mission Accomplished!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
So proud of our great Military which will soon be, after the spending of billions of fully approved dollars, the finest that our Country has ever had. There won’t be anything, or anyone, even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 14, 2018
Updated
Egypt is the latest country to issue a response to the US-led strikes in Syria, expressing its “deep concern” over further military escalation in the region.
Without specifically mentioning the overnight missile strikes, Egypt’s foreign ministry rejected the use of internationally banned weapons on Syrian territory and demanded a transparent international investigation into last Saturday’s use of chemical weapons, Reuters reported.
“The Arab Republic of Egypt expresses its solidarity with the brotherly Syrian people in their aspirations to live in security and stability,” the ministry said in a statement.
It called for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian crisis and efforts to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those affected by the conflict.
Our Middle East reporter, Mona Mahmood, has spoken to Fahad Alqadi, a 46-year-old lawyer from rebel held Idlib in northern Syria about the attacks.
He said:
I believe this US airstrike against Bashar Al-Assad is the only choice left for the world to stop his crimes against the Syrian people. All talks and conferences proved to be futile.
We do not want a war that might destroy Syria, which is already destroyed by the Russians and Iranians. We want diplomatic pressures to force Bashar and Shia militias to leave Syria and let the Syrian people live like any normal people in the world. The message of the US-led airstrikes is that US, UK and France can act without getting the approval of the Russians and this is a very important turning point in the Syrian crisis.
The Russians have been manipulating the Syrian cause for more than two years with the Iranians and blocking any international act against the massacres committed by the Syrian regime.This is a message to the Russian president, not to Bashar that Syria is not one of his properties.
We are in support of any military or diplomatic attempt that can force Bashar to leave and end the suffering of the Syrian people. War is the worst choice because the result might be disastrous, but we have lost hope that the Syrian regime would response to any diplomatic solutions. I hope the pressure will continue and this airstrike is only the beginning.
Updated
UN security council to discuss Syria strikes
The UN security council will meet at 4pm UK time in New York to discuss the overnight missile strikes on Syria at the request of Russia.
Meanwhile, the Russian news agency RIA are reporting that Moscow is in touch with the US and other countries about the attack and is interested in cooperation with Washington on Syria, deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday.
Updated
Corbyn asks May to publish legal advice on Syria strikes
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has written to Theresa May questioning the legality of this morning’s missile strikes in Syria, and has asked the PM to publish the legal advice she received from the attorney general in relation to the attack.
In the letter, he writes “the UK prime minister is accountable to parliament, not the whims of the US president”, and calls for the UK to lead diplomatic engagement with all parties involved in the Syrian conflict to end the violence.
The Press Association are reporting that Downing Street will release a summary of the legal advice it received about the strikes later on Saturday, according to unnamed sources.
Here is the full letter:
Dear Prime Minister,
I want to thank you for speaking to me last night regarding the bombing raids in Syria overnight, and for the security briefing you shared.
I am very glad that all British military personnel have returned home safely, and hope too that there have been no civilian casualties in Syria.
As I said I believe that Parliament should have been consulted and voted on the matter. The UK Prime Minister is accountable to Parliament, not to the whims of a US President.
I believe the action was legally questionable, and this morning the UN Secretary General has said as much, reiterating that all countries must act in line with the UN Charter. You assured me that the Attorney General had given clear legal advice approving the action. I would therefore be grateful if you would publish this advice in full today.
Given that neither the UN nor the OPCW has yet investigated, it is clear that diplomatic and non-military means have not been fully exhausted.
It is now vitally important that the OPCW inspectors, who are due to arrive in Douma today, are allowed to do their work and publish their report into their findings – and report to the United Nations Security Council.
I would therefore welcome your assurance that there will be no further bombing raids while OPCW inspectors are on the ground. They must be allowed to complete their inspections without hindrance.
Acting through the United Nations, I believe Britain should now take a diplomatic lead to negotiate a pause in this abhorrent conflict in which hundreds of thousands of Syrians have already been killed and millions displaced. The refugee crisis places a responsibility on all countries and I the government will now increase its commitment to take additional refugees. Hundreds of unaccompanied children remain in Europe and the UK must do more through the Dubs amendment.This means engaging with all parties that are involved in the conflict – including Iran, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US – to ensure there is an immediate ceasefire. We have the grotesque spectacle of a wider geopolitical proxy battle being waged with the Syrian people used as pawns by all sides.
I would welcome your assurance that Britain will embark on renewed diplomatic efforts to end this conflict. Our only priority must be the safety and security of the Syrian people – which is best served by de-escalating this conflict, so that aid can get in.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Leader of the Opposition
Updated
Our Middle East reporter, Mona Mahmood, has spoken to a resident of Damascus about his experience overnight.
Hussam Youis, 27, said:
We thought Trump’s threats were empty words as he was late in implementing them and that is why we went to bed as usual, only to wake up suddenly at the drastic sounds of the explosions.
I ran at 4am with my family to a nearby shelter built in a school to find lots of people who were already there, with their terrified children.
Some of these rockets deviated of their main targeted and fell on the houses of the civilians.
The pretext of the chemical attack against Douma is a blatant lie used by Trump and other states who are in support of him to attack Syria.
This vicious act won’t change anything on the ground, as Syrian people who have been fighting terrorism for more than seven years a couple of rockets would not frighten us. They make us stronger and more adhered to our leadership.
This aggression proves to us that the US has always been against us and the west is acting against the will of the Syrian people. It is an immoral act and for the interest of some other states.
A few hours after the aggression, which last more than an hour, many demonstrations marched in Damascus to denounce the US aggression and support our leadership. Some of the protesters were holding parts of the rockets.
Updated
Assad: 'Western aggression will make Syria more determined'
Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has said this morning’s missile strikes by the US, UK and France will only increase his country’s resolve to fight terrorism during a phone conversation with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani.
The Syrian leader accused western nations of supporting terrorism, and the Iranian president reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the Syrian regime, according to the Syrian presidency.
Earlier today, the Syrian Presidency’s Twitter account posted a video of Assad arriving at work following the overnight raids.
صباح الصمود..
— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) April 14, 2018
رئاسة الجمهورية العربية السورية pic.twitter.com/hhIZT6cOTe
Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s speech on airstrikes in Syria:
Labour and Conservative leaders in Scotland have reacted to the airstrikes.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said:
Last night’s airstrikes were targeted at the Syrian regime’s chemical weapon facilities and in direct response to the chemical attack on Syria’s civilian population in Douma last week.
While carried out by UK, US and French military personnel, the strikes have the express support of the EU and Nato, as well as the governments of Canada, Australia and Germany, among others.
The international community recognises that chemical weapons cannot be used with impunity, and that last night’s targeted action will degrade the ability of the Assad regime to further develop and deploy chemical weapons in future.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said:
Just two days ago Theresa May met with her cabinet to discuss Syria – today we wake to the news that she has been led by Donald Trump into airstrikes, dangerously escalating an already devastating conflict.
Despite having no majority, there has been no consultation with parliament on any military action, and no agreement with the UN.
Political avenues should be exhausted before such a serious step is ever taken, yet the prime minister has been rushed into legally, morally and democratically questionable air strikes at the behest of Donald Trump.
Updated
Fact-finding mission to Douma will continue - weapons watchdog
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will continue its mission in Douma following reports of a chemical weapons attack, it has said.
In a statement, the organisation said:
The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) team of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will continue its deployment to the Syrian Arab Republic to establish facts around the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma.
The OPCW has been working in close collaboration with the United Nations department of safety and security to assess the situation and ensure the safety of the team.
🔴BREAKING: #OPCW continues to deploy Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to Syria. Learn more: https://t.co/1GzTGFh6zt pic.twitter.com/Lu5IHbkUEo
— OPCW (@OPCW) April 14, 2018
Updated
Syrian state TV shows people walking around a hole in the ground in a suburb of Homs said to be caused by the airstrikes carried out against Syria by the US, UK and France. Video here:
Airstrikes had not legal basis - Corbyn
Speaking in Yorkshire, Jeremy Corbyn said he would support calls for a new UN resolution and “bring Russia and US together along with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey, all the neighbouring states”.
This civil war is ghastly. It’s killed hundreds of thousands. It’s driven millions into refuge in other countries and the chemical weapons are obviously appalling and disgusting and completely illegal within international war.
Asked about the consequences of taking action in Syria without legal authority, Corbyn said:
The consequences of any country taking unilateral action that has no legal basis are that it’s an encouragement for others to do exactly the same and reduces our ability to complain when others do that.
Surely the United Nations exists for a purpose. If the security council was unable to come to an agreement this week, as it obviously wasn’t because the US and Russia couldn’t agree on anything, then surely the role of another country, us for example, is to be an honest broker and try and bring them together. This war cannot go on.
Corbyn said weapons inspectors should have been allowed to complete their work.
She (May) has used the argument that by bombing those sites it would prevent any other chemical weapons being used. I would just simply say to her the weapons inspectors were on their way to her to verify it.
In 2013, Lavrov (Sergei, Russian foreign minister) and Kerry (John, former secretary of state) on behalf of Russia and US, reached an agreement, and did destroy a large amount of chemical weapons. There is precedent that this process can work.
Surely it would be better to do that and start bombing, goodness knows, what the consequences of that bombing could be. I’m glad that no service personnel were killed or injured during this we don’t know if there were any civilian or other casualties yet.
Asked how the airstrikes were illegal, Corbyn replied:
You could only do it on the basis of self defence if there was a direct threat to us and there wasn’t.
Updated
Russia claims Syria air defences shot down 71 of 103 missiles
The Russian military has claimed that the Syrian air defences, whose most modern weapon is a three-decades-old Russian-supplied anti-aircraft system, shot down 71 of 103 missiles fired by the US and its allies, the UK and France, Peter Beaumont and Andrew Roth write.
As further details began to emerge about the sites target by the US-led strikes, Col Gen Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military said the strikes had not caused any casualties and that Syrian military facilities targeted suffered only minor damage.
Although it was not possible to verify the claims, the most up-to-date system that Moscow has supplied the Syrian regime is the short range Pantsir S-1, which has an anti-missile capability.
Russia said its advisers had spent the last 18 months completely rebuilding the Syrian air defence system, and said the high number of intercepted rockets spoke to “the high effectiveness of the weaponry in Syria and the excellent training of Syrian servicemen prepared by our specialists”.
Although Russia suggested that Syrian forces had been responsible for manning their own air defences, Russian advisers have a long history of operating systems in such situations.
Video footage that emerged in the aftermath of the strikes appeared to show air defence missiles being launched.
Read more:
Updated
The Stop the War Coalition has condemned the airstrikes. A statement released by the group said:
We strongly condemn the missile attacks on Syria last night which will have only brought the Syrians more misery and destruction. They will have done nothing to end the war or alleviate their suffering. In sanctioning killing at the behest of Donald Trump, Theresa May deliberately avoided consulting parliament and risked dramatically widening the war.
The overwhelming majority of people in this country oppose this action just as they have opposed the series of wars of the last seventeen years. Following protests around the country yesterday the Stop the War Coalition is calling for a further protest in Parliament Square this Monday 16 April the day parliament reconvenes.
Updated
May faces down calls for vote on future strikes
Theresa May has refused to rule out further action against targets in Syria if Britain sees further evidence of chemical weapons attacks, but faced down calls for an immediate vote in parliament on the British airstrikes overnight, writes Jessica Elgot.
In Downing Street after military action was authorised in a joint offensive by the UK, US and France, the prime minister said the airstrikes would “significantly degrade the Syrian regime’s ability to research, develop and deploy chemical weapons”.
The prime minister said the allies had hit a chemical weapons storage and production facility, a key chemical weapons research centre and a military bunker involved in chemical weapons attacks.
However, pressed on whether she would authorise further strikes if chemical weapons stockpiles had survived, May said the Syrian regime should not doubt Britain’s resolve to prevent the normalisation of chemical weapons.
Amid accusations from Jeremy Corbyn that the attack was legally questionable, the prime minister said the attorney general, Jeremy Wright, had produced legal advice presented to cabinet on Thursday. Officials said it had made the case that strikes were necessary to prevent humanitarian catastrophe.
May said she would return to the Commons on Monday when MPs return from the Easter recess to give a statement and answer questions about the attack. But pressed on whether she would grant MPs a vote if further action was taken, the prime minister declined to give any guarantees.
“This decision was taken because I think it was the right thing to do,” she said. “The power to take this decision is obviously a prerogative power and at the first opportunity, parliament will have an opportunity to question this. I will be in parliament on Monday in order to do so. The intent of this action is that it does degrade, and it does deter, the Syrian regime from taking action. We will be following up with further diplomatic action.”
Updated
In her statement to journalists on Saturday, the UK prime minister, Theresa May, gave examples of “evidence” that led UK authorities to conclude the Assad regime was behind the chemical weapons attack in Douma.
Her comments add to information supplied by both the Pentagon in the US and an assessment released by France of what happened in Douma.
May said:
I cannot tell you everything. But let me give an example of some of the evidence that leads us to this conclusion. Open source accounts allege that a barrel bomb was used to deliver the chemicals.
Multiple open source reports claim that a regime helicopter was observed above the city of Douma on the evening of 7 April. The opposition does not operate helicopters or use barrel bombs.
And reliable intelligence indicates that Syrian military officials co-ordinated what appears to be the use of chlorine in Douma on 7 April.
No other group could have carried out this attack. Indeed, Daesh for example does not even have a presence in Douma.
France on Saturday released its assessment of what happened in the Syrian town of Douma on 7 April, saying it had “a high level of confidence” and enough proof to say the Syrian regime was behind chemical attacks.
A French official said the assessment that had been released was based on declassified information and intelligence-gathering.
The US has claimed it has a large body of evidence pointing to the Assad regime’s responsibility for the 7 April chemical attack on Douma, including witness sightings of helicopters dropping barrel bombs on Douma, and reliable intelligence that Syrian military officials coordinated the attack.
You can read more on US moves to provide evidence here:
Updated
Theresa May said the airstrikes against Syria were “right and legal” - watch the video here.
Caroline Lucas, the leader of the Green Party, has said air strikes will do “nothing to increase chances of peace”.
Air strikes on #Syria have done nothing to increase chances of peace so far & no evidence they’ll do so now. We need consistent foreign policy - stronger sanctions, more peace building, end arms sales to Saudi Arabia etc - and it needs to be set by parliament not US President https://t.co/fW79zwjBPx
— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) April 14, 2018
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) - the principal political decision-making body of Nato - is to hold a meeting this afternoon to discuss the airstrikes.
A Nato official: “There will be a meeting of the North Atlantic Council this afternoon. France, the United Kingdom and the United States will brief Allies on actions taken in Syria.”
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato secretary general, has said he supports the actions taken by US, UK and France.
I support the actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and France against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities and capabilities.
This will reduce the regime’s ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons.
Nato has consistently condemned Syria’s continued use of chemical weapons as a clear breach of international norms and agreements.
The use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, and those responsible must be held accountable.NATO considers the use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security, and believes that it is essential to protect the Chemical Weapons Convention. This calls for a collective and effective response by the international community.
France on Saturday released its assessment of what happened in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7, saying it had “a high level of confidence” and enough proof to say the Syrian regime was behind chemical attacks.
A French official said the assessment that had been released was based on declassified information and intelligence-gathering.
The assessment cites “the absence at this point of chemical samples analysed by our own laboratories”. The French official said samples could be analysed at a later time. The French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told French TV on Saturday that French services were analysing samples taken in Douma. Le Drian said: “There’s chlorine, that’s certain.”
Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said Theresa May should have sought Parliamentary approval for action.
Riding the coattails of an erratic US President is no substitute for a mandate from the House of Commons.
The Prime Minister could and should have recalled Parliament this week and sought the approval of MPs before proceeding.
Liberal Democrats stood ready to assess the evidence and objectives for any action and, if it were properly planned and justified, to support a military response.
At this moment our thoughts are with British and allied troops. But the Government’s decision fatally undermines the integrity of this mission. It shows a weak Government putting short term political expediency before democracy and in so doing further diminishing the standing of Britain in the world.
Guardian associate editor has written a comment piece on the Syrian airstrikes. He writes
Enough to show they are serious. Not enough for it to get out of control. That, in essence, seems to be the initial lesson of the missile attacks launched on Syria this morning by the US, France and Britain.
Read more:
French defence ministry sources said France fired 12 missiles in coordinated air and sea strikes.
First, cruise missiles were fired from frigates in the Mediterranean, and then, 20 minutes later missiles were fired from several French fighter jets which had taken off from airbases in France and were now back at base.
The French naval vessels involved in the strikes have now left the area and headed west. The French operation lasted 10 hours. “The operation is over, the French aircraft are back,” a French defence source said.
The Democratic Unionist Party backed May’s decision.
Deputy leader and North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds MP said: “First and foremost we salute the courage of our brave servicemen and women. They have carried out their duty with typical discipline and valour.
“The Prime Minister has the full authority, on the basis of all the information at her disposal, to order the type of military action which has been carried out this morning and we reject any suggestion that she was not entitled to do so.
“We are reassured that the military action is strictly targeted and limited in its purpose. Also that it is not about a wider intervention in the Syrian civil war which would, in our view, be counter productive.
“Given the context of the recent international response to the use of a nerve agent in the UK, the clear targeed purpose of the strikes, and the repeated blocking by Russia of diplomatic solutions through the UN, we believe the Prime Minister was justified in standing with our American and French allies in this concerted action.”
Former UK prime minister, David Cameron, has declared his support for the airstrikes in Syria.
I firmly support the military action taken in Syria. The barbaric & intolerable use of chemical weapons should never go unchecked. As we have seen in the past, inaction has its consequences - so PM right to join forces with our allies to take targeted & appropriate action. 1/2
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) April 14, 2018
My thoughts are with our brave servicemen & women who have been called to duty. Let the message go out loud & clear: the use of chemical weapons is never acceptable. 2/2
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) April 14, 2018
What we know so far
- The US has launched air strikes alongside UK and French forces aimed at reducing Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities in the wake of last weekend’s gas attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma.
- Moments after US president Donald Trump concluded his address on Friday night about 2am BST, reports emerged of explosions in Syria. A Pentagon briefing later confirmed three sites were hit: two in Damascus and one in Homs. The sites were all regarded as linked to the storage, or testing, of chemical weapons. Syrian air defences responded to the strikes but the US said it had suffered no losses in the initial air strikes.
- Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said the airstrikes were an “act of aggression” and would worsen the humanitarian crisis in Syria.
- Trump said the attack in Douma a week ago represented “a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use” by the Assad regime. He said: “We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents.”
- The British prime minister, Theresa May, said she authorised targeted strikes to “degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use”. Taking a swipe at Russia, she said: “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised – within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world. We would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none.”
- May addressed journalists at 10 Downing Street on Saturday morning, reiterating comments made in her statement.
- The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has called the airstrikes “legally questionable” and said May should have sought parliamentary approval for the strikes.
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence said four Tornado jets flew from Cyprus as part of the strikes on Homs. The UK defence secretary, Gavin Williamson, said the UK involvement has been successful.
- The US defence secretary, James Mattis, said the US, UK and France had taken “decisive action” against Syria’s chemical weapon infrastructure and did not rule out further strikes. “Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message” last time, he said, referring to the response to the Ghouta chemical attack in 2017. He said the allies had “gone to great length to avoid civil and foreign casualties”.
- French president Emmanuel Macron said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime posed an “immediate danger for the Syrian people and our collective security.”
Updated
The Spanish foreign ministry described the strikes as a “legitimate and proportional” response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against the civilian population.
“A chemical weapons attack is a crime against humanity,” it said. “Those responsible for this and previous attacks must be brought to justice. We regret the Security Council’s paralysis on this issue. We always prefer concerted international action to unilateral action. But when the latter is taken, it must be proportional, as it has been on this occasion.”
In remarks apparently directed at the Russian government, the statement went on: “Those who support the Syrian regime must exert all the necessary pressure to avoid attacks against the civilian population. The continuing violations of the ceasefire are not acceptable. But the use of chemical weapons is a qualitatively different issue and a matter of extreme gravity. Sadly this is not the first time but we hope it will be the last.”
The Spanish government said that only a UN-supervised political transition would bring peace to Syria: “Spain wholeheartedly supports that transition as the only way to put an end to the images we have seen over recent days of children dying amid atrocious suffering. Nothing can justify something like that.”
Updated
Israel has said the strikes were an “important signal” to Iran, Syria and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“The use of chemical weapons crosses a red line that humanity can no longer tolerate,” Yoav Gallant, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said on Twitter.
“The American attack is an important signal to the axis of evil - Iran, Syria and Hezbollah,” he added.
There have been concerns expressed among high-level security figures in Israel that the country could be targetted by Iran, Syria or Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, following US strikes.
As May was speaking, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has issued a statement in which he says the use of chemical weapons is “unacceptable in any circumstances”.
Last night, France, the United Kingdom and the United States responded in a coordinated military action to the heinous chemical weapons attack carried out by the Syrian regime against civilians in Douma on 7 April.
As the European Commission has stated, the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable in any circumstances and must be condemned in the strongest terms. The international community has the responsibility to identify and hold accountable those responsible of any attack with chemical weapons.
This was not the first time that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against civilians but it must be the last.
As it enters its 8th year of conflict, Syria desperately needs a lasting ceasefire respected by all parties that paves the way for achieving a negotiated political solution through the United Nations-led Geneva process, to bring peace to the country once and for all. After the suffering they have endured, Syrians deserve nothing less.
The use of chemical weapons is unacceptable in any circumstances and must be condemned in the strongest terms. The international community has the responsibility to identify and hold accountable those responsible of any attack with chemical weapons. #Syria pic.twitter.com/beF6IEirEP
— Jean-Claude Juncker (@JunckerEU) April 14, 2018
Pressed on the role of Parliament and future votes on further military action, May said she thought the action was “the right thing to do” and was about “degradation of chemical weapons”.
Asked if the current scenario shows the vote in 2013 to take no action against Syria was a mistake, she said: “I voted to take action in 2013. When the Government put that to Parliament we felt it was the right thing to do.”
She said promises were made by the Syrian regime at the time which were subsequently not kept.
Asked why UK did not wait “one or two days” for formal proof from chemical weapons investigators, May said the recent attack in Douma was not the only one that has taken place. The reason for UK action was not just the events in Douma but also earlier attacks.
“All the indications were this was a chemical weapons attack at the hands of the Syrian regime,” she said.
Given the failure of all diplomatic efforts so far, what is the plan following these strikes?
May says diplomatic efforts so far have not had “the impact we wish it would have”. “We’ve now taken military action and alongside that we will renew diplomatic efforts as well,” she adds.
Asked if UK spoke to Russia before the strikes took place, May said it did not.
Asked by the Guardian’s Jessica Elgot if she is concerned that she may not have the support of the British people, May replied:
“My message to people is this is about the use of chemical weapons.
We’ve had an accepted position in the international community - chemical weapons are illegal, they are banned - we’ve seen that international norm eroded.”
May said a nerve agenet has been used on UK streets and the Syrian regime have continued to use chemical weapons despite reassurances they did not have any.
“It is important for the alleviation of humanitarian suffering in Syria but also if we stand back and look at this more widely it’s in all our interests that we restore that international norm on the prohibition of chemical weapons.”
Following her comments related to the attack in Salisbury, May was asked if the airstrikes were just about Assad or a warning to Russia as well. She said:
“The action taken last night was focused on degrading and deterring the operational capability and wilingness of the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons.”
But she added: “I believe it is a message to others that the international community is not going to stand by and see chemical weapons used with immunity.”
Asked why she did not seek prior approval or debate?
“I believe this action was necessary, it was the right thing for us to do. We’ve been working with our allies and partners to make a full assessment of what happened on the ground, then to consider what action was necessary. Then to do that in a timely fashion.
“One of the gravest decisions a prime minister can take is to send our service personnel into action, into combat. We owe it to them we protect their safety and security.”
May said the attacks were “right and legal”.
She said: “The lesson of history is when the global rules and standard that keep us safe come under threat we must take a stand and defend them. That’s what we’ve always done and will continue to do.”
“The use of a nerve agent in the UK in recent weeks is part of a pattern of disregard for these norms,” May says.
“It will send a clear signal to anyone else who believes they can use chemical weapons with immunity.”
May says the military action would alleviate further suffering.
“It was not about regime change,” May says. “It was a limited, targeted, effective strike with clear boundaries.”
The strikes will degrade ability to research, develop and deploy chemical weapons, she says.
“Last night’s strikes by US, UK and France were significantly larger than the US action a year ago, and designed to have greater impact on regime’s capability and willingness to use chemical weapons.”
UK will not “stand by and tolerate use of chemical weapons”, she says.
May says the UK Government has attempted to approach Syria through diplomatic channels but to no avail.
“The UK Government has been working intensively with international partners to build evidence picture”, she says.
May says the fact of the chemical weapon attack in Douma “should surprise no one”.
We know the Syrian regime has an abhorrent record of using chemical weapons against its own people.
No other group could have carried out this attack. Daesh does not have a presence in Douma.
Strikes were a "success" - Theresa May
Theresa May is making a statement at Downing Street on the US-led airstrikes in Syria.
She said full assessments of the UK airstrike are taking place but Government is “confident of its success”.
Here’s more from our Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth, on Putin’s statement.
Vladimir Putin said that the US-led strike would “worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria”.
The attack would “bring suffering to the peaceful population, in effect pander to the terrorists who have tormented the Syrian people for seven years, and provoke a new wave of refugees” from the country, the Russian president said.
The attack would “have a destructive effect on the entire system of international relations”, he added.
Putin also repeated Russian insistences that the country had found no evidence of the chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma that led to Saturday morning’s airstrikes.
“Russian military experts at the place of the alleged incident did not find any signs of the use of chlorine or other poisonous substances. Not one local resident confirmed the fact of a chemical attack,” Putin said in the statement released by the Kremlin.
Putin also attack the US-led coalition for carrying out the strike “without waiting for the results of the investigation”, referring to a fact finding mission of experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons bound for Douma.
Updated
The Candian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has offered his support to the actions taken by US, UK and France. In a statement he said:
Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons in last week’s attack in eastern Ghouta, Syria.
Canada supports the decision by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to take action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against its own people.
We will continue to work with our international partners to further investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Those responsible must be brought to justice.
At the Elysée palace, where diplomatic and military staff had been awake all night, the focus was on stressing that French president Emmanuel Macron’s clearly stated “red-line” on chemical weapons use in Syria had been overstepped, as well as international treaties on chemical weapons, and that the French action was legal, “proportional and targeted”.
Sources at the Elysée emphasised Macron’s diplomatic efforts yesterday — describing his phone conversation with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, as key.
Macron was the only leader of the US, UK, French coalition to speak directly to Putin on Friday as airstrikes were being prepared.
The Elysée said the conversation was aimed at looking beyond military action and pushing for more joint work towards a political solution in Syria, stressing that Paris, in targeting strikes specifically at the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons development and production, had sought to avoid any form of escalation with allies.
One Elysée source said of Macron and Putin’s conversation: “The tone was direct as it often is, but it was already constructive.” Paris is seeking to very quickly try to capitalise on the momentum of the weekend’s strikes to push for humanitarian corridors and to push for a “political process” for Syria, to see if Russia will come to the table on political transition, sources said.
Corbyn - airstrikes "legally questionable"
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, has responding to the Syria airstrikes, calling them “legally questionable”:
Bombs won’t save lives or bring about peace. This legally questionable action risks escalating further, as US defence secretary James Mattis has admitted, an already devastating conflict and therefore makes real accountability for war crimes and use of chemical weapons less, not more likely.
Britain should be playing a leadership role to bring about a ceasefire in the conflict, not taking instructions from Washington and putting British military personnel in harm’s way.
Theresa May should have sought parliamentary approval, not trailed after Donald Trump. The Government should do whatever possible to push Russia and the United States to agree to an independent UN-led investigation of last weekend’s horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.
Updated
Putin: airstrikes an "act of aggression"
Russian President Vladimir Putin in a statement called the US-led airstrikes against Syria an “act of aggression.”
Putin said that Russia would convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the “aggressive actions of the United States and its allies.”
Russia in “the most serious way condemns the attack on Syria, where Russian servicemen are helping the legitimate government in its fight with terrorism”, the statement said, according to reports from Russian news agencies.
Iran's supreme leader condemns airstrikes
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a staunch ally of Bashar al-Assad, condemned Saturday’s US-led airstrikes on Syria, describing the leaders of the three countries involved in the attack as criminals.
“I clearly declare that the US president, the French president and the UK prime minister are criminals and have committed a crime,” he said on Saturday, state agencies reported.
Tehran’s foreign ministry also said in a statement that “the aggression is a flagrant violation of international law and a disregard of Syria’s right to national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Iranian media reported.
“Based on religious, legal and ethical regulations, Iran opposes any use of chemical weapons, but at the same time, strongly rejects and condemns the fabrication of excuses to invade an independent country,” the foreign ministry’s statement said.
“There is no doubt that the US and its allies that are engaged a military intervention in Syria without any substantiated document and before any final report of the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and have supposed themselves as the world police and judge, are responsible for regional and international repercussions of the adventure, and should be held accountable,” he said.
Iran, which has been propping up Assad since the conflict began, has provided the Syrian government with crucial ground support, thanks to a combination of Hezbollah fighters, Shia volunteers from across the Middle East and its own Revolutionary Guards.
Russian and Iranian backing has swung the conflict in Assad’s favour, at the same time as the so-called caliphate of the Islamic State (Isis) has crumbled. Its remaining fighters have been pushed back to a modest piece of land along the Euphrates valley near the Iraqi border.
The post-Isis era has also changed the dynamic of the war, however, and Israel, which is concerned about Iran’s growing influence on its doorstep, has become more involved militarily. An Israeli airstrike on a Syrian airbase near Homs on Sunday killed at least seven Iranian military personnel in an incident that Tehran vowed would not be left unanswered.
Khamenei’s top adviser on foreign policy, Ali Akbar Velayati, met with Assad in Damascus ahead of the airstrikes, reiterating Tehran’s support, saying that Iran will stand by the Syrian government under any circumstances in defiance of western retaliation.
Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon says UK foreign policy should be set by parliament and not Donald Trump following the missile strikes launched by the US, UK and France against Syria.
She said the suspected use of chemical weapons in Douma last week was “sickening” but warned that the latest action risked “dangerous escalation”.
Air strikes have not resolved situation in Syria so far - nothing I’ve heard persuades me they will do so now. An international strategy for peace must be pursued - not a course that risks dangerous escalation. UK foreign policy should be set by Parliament, not US President.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) April 14, 2018
Asked how the prime minister would address MPs’ concerns when she returns to Parliament on Monday, Williamson said:
He said: “The speed in which we’re acting is essential. We’ve been co-operating with our partners to alleviate further humanitarian suffering and to maintain the vital security of our operations.”
He went on: “As you’ve touched upon the prime minister will be going to Parliament on Monday. She quite rightly has been taking a leadership role. She said the use of chemical weapons is completely wrong. We’ve had to take action in order to stop this and reduce the Syrian government’s ability to take further action.”
He said: “The prime minister and government have to make decisions not only to do what is right in terms or protecting innocent people but also protecting our national security. We have to make those decisions, and quite understandably, Parliament holds government to account for decisions its makes.
“But it is about doing the right thing, it is about actually protecting those innocent people that the Assad regime have so little care for and are quite comfortable in terms of using chemical weapons against them.
“It’s just frankly not right and we have to take action to stop that happening in the future and that’s what we did last night.”
Asked if this was a “one-time shot”, as US defence secretary, James Mattis, has said, Williamson replied:
“We’ve been working to make sure the targeting and the strikes have an enormous effect. It’s our belief the action we’ve taken has degraded their ability to act in the future.”
Pressed on the issue, Williamson said a clear message had been sent to the Syrian regime and it was now “in their hands”.
“It’s the Syrian regime choice - do they think it’s acceptable to use chemical weapons? There is a consequence.”
Williamson said the action taken by UK, US and France “significantly reduced” the likelihood of the regime using them again.
Williamson said the decision to launch airstrikes was discussed at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
“We all saw the images of the suffering inflicted on innocent men women and children,” he said.
Asked if the intervention could bring about change in the direction of the Syrian civil war, he said: “We expect it to have a significant effect to stop the Syrian regime using chemical weapons in the future.”
Defence secretary says Syria strikes "highly successful mission".
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson is speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He says four RAF tornados took part in strikes on targets in Syria and initial assessments suggest it was a “highly successful mission”.
Over in Cyprus, British base officials are saying they will not be commenting on the overnight strikes in which four Royal Air Force Tornados GR4s were involved.
Speaking shortly after four RAF tornados launched Storm Shadow missiles at a Syrian chemical weapons base 15 miles west of Homs, a British base spokesman in Cyprus said there would be no further information on the attack from officials on the island.
“I am sorry to disappoint but there will be no facilities here on Cyprus,” Sean Tully, spokesman for the sovereign base area, told the Guardian. “We will not be holding press conferences and journalists will not be allowed onto the [military] base.”
Any information regarding the strike - and possible Russian retaliation – will be divulged from London. “The ministry of defence will be coordinating. All enquiries must be directed to them.”
RAF Akrotiri, the nearest airbase to Syria, is Britain’s main forward mounting base for overseas operations in the Middle East and has long been used to carry out precision air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.
A former colony Cyprus is host to two British sovereign bases. Eight typhoon and six tornado fighter bombers are stationed at RAF Akrotiri.
Prior to the overnight strikes, speculation was rife that the airbase’s frontline role as a launch pad would make it a prime candidate for counter attack if Moscow followed through on its pledge to retaliate against any armed action in Syria.
Ahead of the strikes defensive measures were believed to have been taken at the airbase.
Updated
I’m handing over now to my colleague Jamie Grierson in London.
The Guardian’s Middle East reporter Kareem Shaheen is reporting on regional reaction to the air strikes.
More international reaction coming in, with Turkey saying it welcomed the attacks this morning as an appropriate measure for the use of chemical weapons.
“We welcome this operation which has eased humanity’s conscience in the face of the attack in Douma, largely suspected to have been carried out by the regime,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on the state-run Anadolu Agency.
“Attacks with weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, that indiscriminately target civilians constitute crimes against humanity.
“The Syrian regime, which has been tyrannising its own people for more than seven years, be it with conventional or chemical weapons, has a proven track record of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The conscience of the international community carries no doubt to that effect.”
Bashar al-Assad arrives at work on a morning of steadfastness.
صباح الصمود..
— Syrian Presidency (@Presidency_Sy) April 14, 2018
رئاسة الجمهورية العربية السورية pic.twitter.com/hhIZT6cOTe
Updated
The Guardian’s Middle East reporter Kareem Shaheen on a statement issued by the Syrian military command:
The statement published by the Syrian state news agency says the “tripartite aggression” began at 3:55am Damascus time and included approximately 110 missiles fired at targets inside Syria.
It said that Syrian air defence responded and brought down the majority of the missiles, but some hit a research facility in Barzeh, which it said contained scientific labs and an educational centre, but that the US claims was a chemical weapons research facility.
The statement also said that other missiles targeting a military installation near Homs were disrupted and exploded, injuring three civilians, the first allegation of civilian casualties from the strike.
The statement says the Syrian military will continue to fight against “terrorism”.
The Associated Press is reporting protests on the streets of Damascus this morning in a show of defiance against the US:
Hundreds of Syrians gathered at landmark squares in the Syrian capital Saturday, honking their car horns, flashing victory signs and waving Syrian flags in scenes of defiance that followed unprecedented joint airstrikes by the United States, France and Britain.
“Good souls will not be humiliated,” Syria’s presidency tweeted after the airstrikes began.
Soon after the one-hour attack ended, vehicles with loudspeakers roamed the streets of Damascus blaring nationalist songs.
Hundreds of residents began gathering in the landmark Omayyad square of the Syrian capital. Many waved Syrian, Russian and Iranian flags. Some clapped their hands and danced, other drove in convoys, honking their horns in defiance.
“We are your men, Bashar,” they shouted.
Syrian state TV broadcast live from the square where a large crowd of civilians mixed with men in uniforms, including an actor, lawmakers and other figures.
“Good morning steadfastness,” one broadcaster said.
Syrian TV called the attacks a “blatant violation of international law and shows contempt for international legitimacy.”
Russia’s defence ministry has issued a statement saying “more than 100 cruise missiles and air-to-land missiles were fired by the US, Britain, and France from the sea and air at Syrian military and civilian targets”.
The statement said “a significant number” of missiles were shot down by Syrian air defences, built by the Soviet Union more than 30 years ago. No Russian air defences based in Syria were hit in the strikes, the ministry said.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has said his government (another Five Eyes member) supports the attacks on Syrian military targets.
Canada supports the decision by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to take action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against its own people.
We will continue to work with our international partners to further investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Those responsible must be brought to justice.
Welcome the news of UK military strikes against major chemical weapons facilities in Syria alongside our US and French allies. The world is united in its disgust for any use of chemical weapons, but especially against civilians
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 14, 2018
What we know so far:
- Donald Trump has launched air strikes alongside UK and French forces aimed at reducing Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities in the wake of last weekend’s gas attack on the Damascus suburb of Douma.
- Moments after the president’s address finished, reports emerged of explosions in Damascus. A Pentagon briefing later confirmed three sites were hit: two in Damascus and one in Homs. The sites were all regarded as linked to the storage, or testing, of chemical weapons. Syrian air defences responded to the strikes but the US said it had suffered no losses in the initial air strikes.
- Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said “such actions will not be left without consequences” and said Moscow was being threatened. “Insulting the president of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible,” he added.
- The US president said the attack in Douma a week ago represented “a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use” by the Assad regime. He said: “We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents.”
- The British prime minister, Theresa May, said she authorised targeted strikes to “degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use”. Taking a swipe at Russia, she said: “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised – within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world. We would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none.”
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence said four Tornado jets flew from Cyprus as part of the strikes on Homs.
- US defence secretary, James Mattis, said the US, UK and France had taken “decisive action” against Syria’s chemical weapon infrastructure and did not rule out further strikes. “Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message” last time, he said, referring to the response to the Ghouta chemical attack in 2017. He said the allies had “gone to great length to avoid civil and foreign casualties”.
- French president Emmanuel Macron said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime posed an “immediate danger for the Syrian people and our collective security.”
Julian Borger is reporting from Washington that the US relied on a “large body” of evidence pointing towards the Assad regime’s responsibility for the chemical weapons attack on Douma.
The evidence includes eyewitness accounts of helicopters dropping barrel bombs on the city, and “reliable intelligence’ that the attacks were co-ordinated by Syrian military officials.
Jenny Jones, Greens peer
This comment by PM is nonsense. She cannot possible be confident that tensions won't escalate! Region is complex, many players, with shifting alliances. All happening over the bodies of innocent Syrians. https://t.co/Cj9bJd7vbC
— Jenny Jones (@GreenJennyJones) April 14, 2018
Iran has warned of “regional consequences” following air strikes in Syria by a coalition of the United States, Britain, and France.
“The United States and its allies have no proof and, without even waiting for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to take a position, have carried out this military attack,” Iran’s foreign ministry in a statement.
The coalition will be “responsible for the regional consequences of this adventurist action”.
Iran is a key backer - alongside Russia - of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, providing military advisors and “volunteer” ground forces.
Tehran officials have said the Western powers were using last week’s alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held stronghold of Douma as an excuse to undermine the Syrian regime’s recent advances in the long-running civil war.
Seven Iranians were killed in an air strike on a Syrian military base on Monday, which Iran claims was carried out by Israel.
The Guardian’s Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis:
French foreign minister Le Drian says just now:
— Angelique Chrisafis (@achrisafis) April 14, 2018
The red line set out by Macron last year was crossed.
Syrian regime's use of chemical weapons was "not acceptable"
#Syria French foreign minister Le Drian says the military response was "legitimate", that it targeted Syrian regime's chemical capabilities, was "proportional and targeted" to prevent "further carnage"
— Angelique Chrisafis (@achrisafis) April 14, 2018
#Syria French defence minister Parly says French naval and air power was used, beginning at 3am French time. Cruise missiles from naval frigate in the Mediterranean as well as French fighter jets that left several French airbases
— Angelique Chrisafis (@achrisafis) April 14, 2018
Protestors on the streets of Damascus wave Russian and Syrian flags, the morning after US-led airstrikes on the capital.
Russia’s foreign ministry Maria Zakharova has condemned the US over its strikes on Syria. She said the attacks hit a long-troubled country “that for many years has been trying to survive terrorist aggression”.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday, Zakharova also criticised the Western media for its coverage, which it says informed the White House for its attacks.
“The White House stated that its assuredness of the chemical attack from Damascus was based on ‘mass media, reports of symptoms, video, photos as well as credible information’. After this statement the American and other Western mass media should understand their responsibility in what is happening.”
Zakharova compared the situation to the start of the Iraq War in 2003 based on claims Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction.
Syrian state-run TV is reporting that three civilians have been wounded in the US-led missile attack on a military base in Homs.
Reports say the attack was largely thwarted by the derailing of incoming missiles but add that nonetheless, three people were wounded.
The TV network says a separate attack of “a number of missiles” - targeting a scientific research centre - destroyed a building and caused other material damage but no human losses. The network said the building in the research centre included an education centre and other laboratories.
Theresa May has spoken from No. 10 on the air strikes in Syria, drawing a direct link between the strikes and the alleged Russian nerve agent attacks in Salisbury last month.
We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised: within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world. We would have preferred an alternative path, but on this occasion there is none.
The Guardian’s Middle East reporter Kareem Shaheen:
This is a video purporting to be from Damascus showing Syrian air defense firing at incoming missiles with the dawn call to prayer in the city in the background.
The Syrian government will likely portray the attack as showing Syria’s steadfastness against foreign aggression, handing a win to the Assad regime.
As mentioned earlier, Syrian state TV is already calling the attack the ‘tripartite aggression’, drawing a parallel to the Suez canal campaign in 1956 against Egypt, an evocative Arab nationalist moment.
The Syrian government is confirming that one of the attacks hit a scientific research facility in Barzeh near Damascus, which they said destroyed an education center and scientific laboratories but didn’t cause any casualties. Its description would correspond with what the US says is a chemical weapons research facility.
It is morning in Damascus. State television is broadcasting pictures of the city, showing heavy traffic, in a bid to demonstrate an apparently unperturbed city.
Updated
US-led airstrikes on Syria targeted sites in the capital Damascus, and in Homs.
Reports are emerging from Damascus, with the Syrian government saying it was able to “absorb” the US-led airstrikes on the capital and Homs, thanks to a warning from Russia. Syria says it was able to shoot down a third of the 30 missiles fired upon its territory.
The US said it gave Russia warning of the impending strikes but did not reveal any detail about targets.
Reuters is reporting:
The Syrian government and its allies have absorbed a U.S.-led attack on Saturday and the targeted sites were evacuated days ago thanks to a warning from Russia, a senior official in a regional alliance that backs Damascus said.
“We have absorbed the strike”, the official told Reuters.
“We had an early warning of the strike from the Russians ... and all military bases were evacuated a few days ago,” the official said. Around 30 missiles were fired in the attack, and a third of them were shot down, the official said.
“We are carrying out an assessment of the material damages,” the official added.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been backed in the seven-year-long Syrian war by Russia, Iran, and Iran-backed Shi’ite groups from across the region, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Ewen MacAskill has written analysis of the military strikes. He says the US-led action carries risk, ‘but it’s not World War Three’.
It is intended as a one-off, with no further strikes planned unless Syrian president Bashar al-Assad conducts chemical attacks in the future.
Confirmed photo of interceptors flying over #Syria tonight. As pointed out by @WaelAlRussi, Tomahawks or JASSMs don’t leave a trail. pic.twitter.com/kRydLRnGAy
— Strategic Sentinel (@StratSentinel) April 14, 2018
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and National Security Advisor John Bolton watch President Donald Trump’s announcement of military strikes on Syria. Bolton has been in the job five days. There are reports Bolton urged the president to conduct far larger military strikes than the more limited action counselled by secretary of defence Jim Mattis.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said the US operation was “robust” and “clearly well-considered”.
“Tonight, the administration notified me of the president’s decision to use military action to deter Bashar al-Assad and respond to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people. I support both the action and objective.”
The Guardian’s Middle East reporter Kareem Shaheen is reporting on the sites hit by US-led air strikes.
A rebel official in the Qalamoun mountains, an area in the province of Damascus, said their fighters reported attacks near the town of al-Ruhaybah, as well as the Dumayr air base. Rebels in the area reported hearing and seeing the explosions in the areas.
The official said the first target is believed to be a storage facility for ballistic missile fuel, and may have been used for storing chemicals. Dumayr air base is believed to be the installation from which the helicopters that carried out the Douma chemical attack took off.
They also reported that the Syrian government launched missiles from its air defense system but apparently to no effect.
Updated
Amnesty International US has urged the American military and its allies to minimise civilian casualties in all of its strikes against Syria.
“The people of Syria have already endured six years of devastating attacks, including chemical attacks, many of which amount to war crimes,” Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for Middle East-North Africa said.
“All precautions must be taken to minimise harm to civilians in any military action. People already living in fear of losing their lives in unlawful attacks must not be further punished for the alleged violations of the Syrian government.”
Jarrar said the US must also consider the broader repercussions of continued conflict in Syria, with millions having already fled violence and persecution in the country.
“The Trump administration must not turn its back on the suffering of men, women, and children by continuing to ban refugees from entering the United States. It is time for the US to reopen our doors to people trying to escape from the violence in Syria.”
Amnesty International is one of 45 NGOs that have signed a joint statement urging UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to launch an independent UN investigation to identify those responsible for chemical attacks in Syria.
I will now hand you over to my colleague Ben Doherty for continued coverage of events in Syria.
What we know so far
- Donald Trump has launched air strikes alongside UK and French forces aimed at the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons facilities.
- Moments after the president’s address finished, reports emerged of explosions in Damascus. A Pentagon briefing later confirmed three sites were hit in Damascus and Homs. Syrian air defences responded but the US said it has suffered no losses in the initial air strikes.
- Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said “such actions will not be left without consequences” and said Moscow was being threatened. “Insulting the president of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible,” he added.
- The US president said the attack in Douma a week ago represented “a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use” by the Assad regime. He said: “We are prepared to sustain this response until the Syrian regime stops its use of prohibited chemical agents.”
- The British prime minister, Theresa May, said she authorised targeted strikes to “degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use”. Taking a swipe at Russia, she said: “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised – within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world. We would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none.”
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence said four Tornado jets flew from Cyprus as part of the strikes on Homs.
- US defence secretary, James Mattis, said the US, UK and France had taken “decisive action” against Syria’s chemical weapon infrastructure and did not rule out further strikes. “Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message” last time, he said, referring to the response to the Ghouta chemical in 2017. He said the allies had “gone to great length to avoid civil and foreign casualties”.
- French president Emmanuel Macron said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime posed an “immediate danger for the Syrian people and our collective security.”
Summary
The French presidential palace has released footage of its military jets setting off.
Décollage, cette nuit, des forces armées françaises qui interviennent contre l’arsenal chimique clandestin du régime syrien. Déclaration du Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron : https://t.co/HNSK0FmZIO pic.twitter.com/DEAW7R50aC
— Élysée (@Elysee) April 14, 2018
John McCain, a Trump foe and chairman of the Senate armed services committee, has applauded the president for taking military action “and for signalling his resolve to do so again if these heinous attacks continue”.
He says: “The message to Assad must be that the cost of using chemical weapons is worse than any perceived benefit, that the United States and our allies have the will and capability to continue imposing those costs, and that Iran and Russia will ultimately be unsuccessful in protecting Assad from our punitive response.”
However, he urges famously impulsive Trump to put together a comprehensive strategy for the region in order to succeed in the long run. He says air strikes alone will not achieve US objectives in the Middle East.
A rebel official in the Qalamoun mountains, an area in the province of Damascus, said their fighters reported attacks near the town of al-Ruhaybah, as well as the Dumayr air base. Rebels in the area reported hearing and seeing the explosions there. Dumayr air base is believed to be the installation from which the helicopters that carried out the Douma chemical attack took off.
It is believed to be a storage facility for ballistic missile fuel, and might have been used for storing chemicals, the official said.
Rebels reported that the Syrian government launched missiles from its air defence system but apparently to no effect.
Russia: there will be 'consequences'
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, has responded to the air strikes in Damascus and Homs. He says Moscows warnings have been left unheard and that Russia is being threatened. “We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences,” he says.
He says “insulting the president of Russia is unacceptable and inadmissible” and that the US, as a holder of chemical weapons, has no moral right to blame other countries.
Statement by the Ambassador Antonov on the strikes on #Syria:
— Russia in USA 🇷🇺 (@RusEmbUSA) April 14, 2018
A pre-designed scenario is being implemented. Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.
All responsibility for them rests with Washington, London and Paris. pic.twitter.com/QEmWEffUzx
This from Associated Press Middle East correspondent Bassem Mroue.
#Damascus during the attack about an hour ago #Syria pic.twitter.com/GDUBcznjMV
— Bassem Mroue باسم مروه (@bmroue) April 14, 2018
Australia, a staunch ally of the US and a member of the Five Eyes security alliance, was not a part of the air strikes on Syria, but has issued a statement supporting the coalition’s actions. The Guardian understands the Australian government was briefed by the US on the strikes shortly before they began.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, along with the foreign and defence ministers, issued a statement:
Australia supports these strikes, which demonstrate a calibrated, proportionate and targeted response. They send an unequivocal message to the Assad regime and its backers, Russia and Iran, that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated.
The use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, under any circumstances is illegal and utterly reprehensible. The Assad regime must not be allowed to commit such crimes with impunity.
Australia also said Syria’s allies, Russia and Iran, must pressure the Assad regime to abandon its practice of using chemical weapons.
Syrian media has reported that Syrian defences hit 13 rockets south of Damascus. It said vehicles with loudspeakers later emerged on the streets of Damascus blaring nationalist songs.
Some more detail on the recent Pentagon briefing conducted by US defence secretary James Mattis. He said there were no reports yet of any US losses during the initial airstrikes.
He said “right now this is a one-time shot” but did not rule out further attacks. Donald Trump said earlier that the campaign against Bashar al-Assad could be “sustained”.
France’s president Emannuel Macron said he acted because “a red line has been crossed”.
Le samedi 7 avril 2018, à Douma, des dizaines d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants ont été massacrés à l’arme chimique.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) April 14, 2018
La ligne rouge a été franchie.
J’ai donc ordonné aux forces armées françaises d’intervenir. https://t.co/Vt9LcFcFzH pic.twitter.com/Dc726PHfAR
The Pentagon briefing has now wrapped up and I will get you more detailed information on that shortly.
Circling back to the UK’s involvement, Gavin Williamson, the UK defence secretary, said: “The reprehensible use of chemical weapons in Douma is further evidence of the Syrian regime’s appalling cruelty against its own people. We will not stand by whilst innocent civilians, including women and children, are killed and made to suffer.
“The international community has responded decisively with legal and proportionate military force. Let these united actions send a clear message to the regime – the use of chemical weapons is categorically unacceptable and you will be held to account.”
Here is the full text of Donald Trump’s earlier announcement of strikes against the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability.
In it, he says the attack a week ago on Douma “was a significant escalation in a pattern of chemical weapons use by that very terrible regime”.
He adds: “The purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production, spread, and use of chemical weapons.”
“I also have a message tonight for the two governments most responsible for supporting, equipping, and financing the criminal Assad regime.
“To Iran, and to Russia, I ask: What kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men, women, and children?”
Mattis is still answering detailed questions. He says he is confident a chemical weapon was used, possibly sarin.
I haven’t read France’s or Britain’s “Constitution,” but I’ve read ours and no where in it is Presidential authority to strike Syria.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 14, 2018
Our wrap on the UK involvement in the Syrian strikes is up now. In a statement, prime minister Theresa May said it was not a decision she had taken lightly. In a thinly veiled swipe at Russia, and the Skripals poisoning, she said: “We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalised – within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world. We would have preferred an alternative path. But on this occasion there is none.”
Updated
France, the third partner in these strikes, has issued a statement. President Emmanuel Macron said the attack would be limited to Syria’s chemical weapons facilities.
“We cannot tolerate the recurring use of chemical weapons, which is an immediate danger for the Syrian people and our collective security,” a statement said.
Updated
Mattis: “We did everything we could to minimise any chance of civilian casualties. We are aware this is very difficult.”
Mattis is asked when he was confident a chemical attack happened. He says yesterday.
Dunford is taking questions now, and says the Russians were not previously notified of the targets.
Dunford makes the point that last time the US conducted an airstrike – following a chemical attack in Ghouta – it was a unilateral action. This time, two allies – the Uk and France – were involved.
Mattis passes over to General Dunford. He says three sites have been hit.
The first target was a science research facility in the greater Damascus area. The second was a storage facility west of Homs they believe held precursor chemicals and sarin. The third was a chemical storage depot and “important command post”.
Mattis says the strikes were directed at the Syrian regime and that the military had “gone to great length to avoid civil and foreign casualties”.
Mattis: allies took 'decisive action'
Mattis said the US, UK and France took “decisive action” chemical weapon infrastructure. “Clearly the Assad regime did not get the message,” he said and that with US allies a clear message had been sent not to perpetrate another attack.
Updated
James Mattis, the US defence secretary, is speaking now.
The MoD said the strike in Homs was designed to “maximise the destruction of the stockpiled chemicals and to minimise any risks of contamination to the surrounding area”. It said the facility is “some distance” from any known concentrations of civilian habitation.
It said initial indications showed the attack was successful.
Four RAF Tornados were part of the attack
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has given details of its involvement in tonight’s strikes.
It says four RAF Tornados flew from Cyprus and fired Storm Shadow missiles at a former missile base in Syria, near Homs, where the Syrian government was believed to have kept chemical weapon precursors.
We have a wrap of what we know so far, by Julian Borger, our world affairs editor, here.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader has issued a strong rebuke of Trump for his actions, saying” “One night of airstrikes is not a substitute for a clear, comprehensive Syria strategy.”
She said the the president must come to Congress and secure authorisation for use of military force, while also holding “Putin accountable for his enabling of the Assad regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people.”
#breaking #Damascus , scientific research facility accused of being a Chemical facility pic.twitter.com/emPdWfSe2y
— Steven nabil (@thestevennabil) April 14, 2018
Further explosions are being heard in Damascus. CNN is quoting a senior administration official saying “this isn’t over” and that tonight is just the first wave of a “multi-wave” attack.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says several military bases have also been hit. It says the Republican Guard headquarters and the army’s 4th division were targeted.
Some more detail on the situation in Damascus. A Reuters witness has said at least six loud explosions were heard in the city and smoke was seen rising. Syrian state TV has said the army’s air defences were confronting an attack by the United States, France and Britain.
A second witness said the Barzah district of Damascus had been hit in the strikes. Barzah is the location of a major Syrian scientific research centre.
Worth noting that staff from the UN’s Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were due to visit Damascus on Saturday to determine whether chemical weapons were used in Douma on 7 April.
Trump’s decision comes on a day of rapid developments:
- The Russian defence minister, Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov, claimed to have direct evidence that Britain had orchestrated the alleged chemical attack at Douma in Syria. The UK, he said, was “directly involved in the provocation”.
- The White House said it had “a high level of confidence” that the Syrian regime carried out the chemical weapon attack in Douma.
- The US, UK and France continued to build up military resources in the eastern Mediterranean.
The US is using Tomahawk cruise missiles in its strikes in Syria, and taking aim at multiple targets in the country, a US official has told Reuters. This would tally with CNN reports that ships and aircraft form part of the attack.
Syrian air defences confronting allied jets - state TV
Syrian state TV says anti-aircraft weapons are being used against jets conducting air strikes. A district in Damascus, Barzeh, which houses a scientific laboratory, has been hit, according to one Reuters witness.
May echoes Trump’s sentiments in saying that the strike is targeted and is not intended as heralding an open-ended military presence.
She continues the pressure on Russia, whom the UK separately accuses of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, saying: “While this action is specifically about deterring the Syrian regime, it will also send a clear signal to anyone else who believes they can use chemical weapons with impunity.”
She criticises Russia for playing a role in closing off alternatives to military action, referring to a veto by Moscow of a UN security council resolution on investigating the attack in Douma. She says “There is no practicable alternative to the use of force to degrade and deter the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime.”
May says the fact that the chemical attack happened “should surprise no one” given the regime’s history.
She adds:
This persistent pattern of behaviour must be stopped – not just to protect innocent people in Syria from the horrific deaths and casualties caused by chemical weapons but also because we cannot allow the erosion of the international norm that prevents the use of these weapons. We have sought to use every possible diplomatic channel to achieve this.
Theresa May issues statement
The British prime minister, moments after Trump finished speaking.
This evening I have authorised British armed forces to conduct co-ordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons capability and deter their use. We are acting together with our American and French allies. In Douma, last Saturday a chemical weapons attack killed up to 75 people, including young children, in circumstances of pure horror.
Explosions heard in Damascus
Reuters says witnesses in Damascus have heard several large explosions and seen smoke on the east side of the city. Douma lies to the north-east. It is unclear if these are related to the US president’s announcement.
Donald Trump has finished speaking now. A Pentagon briefing, presumably shedding light on the targets, will follow in 50 minutes. Stay with us as we make sense of what has happened and will happen.
A little flair is entering his statement now: Trump refers to the “righteous power” of the US, UK and France in acting in the region. He urges Americans to say a prayer. He finishes with: “We pray that god will bring comfort to the suffering and guide the whole region.”
“The US will be a partner and a friend but the fate of the region lies in the hands of its own people.”
“America does not seek an indefinite presence in Syria. We look forward to the day when we can bring our warriors home.”
Trump delivers a message to those associated with the Assad regime in Syria. “What kind of nation wants to be associated with mass murder of innocent men women and children?” he asks.
The US president says “the evil and despicable attack left mothers and fathers, women and children thrashing in pain”. He says “they are crimes of a monster”.
A combined US, British and French military response is under way.
Strikes have been ordered against the Assad regime, says Trump
The president says he has ordered armed forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with chemical weapons capabilities
Updated
Trump is on stage
While we await an announcement, relations between the west and Russia have deteriorated sharply amid concerns about a US reprisal in the Middle East after the attack in which at least 45 people were killed and hundreds more were affected.
The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, declared on Friday “the cold war is back with a vengeance”.
We will keep you updated on events in Washington and elsewhere as we go along.
Trump announcement expected
Hello and welcome. The White House press corps has been called to gather for an announcement by the US president at 9pm Washington time. He is expected to announce the US response to the chemical attack by the Syrian regime in the Damascus suburb of Douma a week ago.
Updated
