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Airstrikes have been launched against Syria by the United States, United Kingdom and France after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a response late Friday to alleged chemical weapons attacks carried out by the Syrian government which killed dozens.
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"A short time ago, I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad," Trump said in an address late Friday night.
The Russian embassy in the United States later released a statement saying "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."
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders described the attacks as "ïllegal and unauthorized" in a Twitter post: "It is Congress, not the president, which has the constitutional responsibility for making war," Sanders wrote.
"The international community must uphold the prohibition against the use of chemical weapons, but it is unclear how Trump's illegal and unauthorized strikes on Syria achieve that goal."
Cuba also voiced criticism, releasing a statement saying: "This unilateral action, outside the Security Council of the United Nations, constitutes a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the charter of that organization and constitutes an outrage against a sovereign state, which exacerbates the conflict in the country and in the region.
"The revolutionary government expresses its solidarity with the Syrian people and government for the loss of life and material damage, as a result of this atrocious attack."
AFP reported within minutes of Trump's announcement that "huge blasts" were being heard in Syria's capital. The strikes are being carried out in conjunction with France and the United Kingdom.
Syrian State Television reported that Syrian armed forces are responding to the attack, working to intercept missiles.
Russia had previously promised to respond using any means necessary should the United States initiate an attack. There is not yet news of a Russian response.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told a press conference late Friday that the United States does not currently have any more attacks planned.
This contradicts previous statements reported by CNN from a U.S. official saying that this "is not the end of the U.S. response," and that they are "concerned" as to how "sophisticated" Russia's response capabilities will be. "We are watching what Russians do in the next 24 hours," the official told CNN.
U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence abruptly left the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru just prior to the announcement of the attack.
After arriving at the opening ceremony, Pence cut his participation short to race across town to his hotel, arriving in time to see the president announce "precision strikes" on Syria in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack that killed at least 60 people on April 7.
During his announcement, Trump said: "Tonight, I ask all Americans to say a prayer for our noble warriors and our allies as they carry out their missions." He maintained that the United States does "not seek an indefinite presence in Syria."
British Prime Minister Theresa May shortly after released a statement explaining that she had authorized the U.K. armed forces to intervene in Syria. "I have done so because I judge this action to be in Britain’s national interest. We cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalized — within Syria, on the streets of the UK, or anywhere else in our world," she said.
Bolivia's President Evo Morales voiced his opposition to the strikes late Friday via Twitter: "In 2003, Bush invented non-existent weapons of mass destruction to justify the U.S. invasion of Iraq. What he was looking for was owning the oil. Now Trump repeats vile imperialist aggression against our Syrian brothers, also to seize the natural resources of another country."
The attack is in response to an alleged chemical attack that the United States accuses the Syrian government of carrying out in Douma, Eastern Ghouta.
No evidence has been brought forward to back up the claim, and yesterday U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the government was still "looking for the actual evidence."
Tonight, @POTUS Donald J. Trump addressed the nation to announce a combined operation- with the #UnitedKingdom and #France- of precision strikes against sites associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of the #Assad regime in #Syria. pic.twitter.com/m0H3Pk8Dh1
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 14, 2018
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