Undid revision 775139052 by 104.169.28.48 (talk) It's according to Theodore Postol. |
104.169.28.48 (talk) REPORTED by RT, which is what my addition makes clear. Undid revision 775139503 by Erlbaeko (talk) |
||
Line 80: | Line 80: | ||
===Independent analysis=== |
===Independent analysis=== |
||
[[Theodore Postol]], Professor Emeritus at MIT, analyzed the evidence referenced in the unclassified intelligence assessment released by the Trump White House and concluded that the assessment “contains absolutely no evidence that this attack was the result of a munition being dropped from an aircraft” and that photographic evidence used in the assessment pointed to an attack by people on the ground using a 122mm artillery rocket tube filled with a chemical agent and detonated by an explosive charge laid on top of it |
[[Theodore Postol]], Professor Emeritus at MIT, analyzed the evidence referenced in the unclassified intelligence assessment released by the Trump White House and concluded that the assessment “contains absolutely no evidence that this attack was the result of a munition being dropped from an aircraft” and that photographic evidence used in the assessment pointed to an attack by people on the ground using a 122mm artillery rocket tube filled with a chemical agent and detonated by an explosive charge laid on top of it, according to the Russian government-controlled ''Russia Today'' news service<ref> [https://www.rt.com/usa/384520-postol-report-sarin-syria/ "White House claims on Syria chemical attack ‘obviously false’ – MIT professor"] 04-12-17 [[RT News]]</ref> |
||
==US reaction== |
==US reaction== |
Revision as of 22:34, 12 April 2017
2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack | |
---|---|
Part of the Syrian Civil War | |
Type | Airstrike, chemical attack (disputed; unidentified chemical, with sarin gas suspected) |
Location | Khan Shaykhun, Idlib Governorate, Syria 35°26′20″N 36°39′4″E / 35.43889°N 36.65111°E |
Date | 4 April 2017 06:30 EEST[1] (UTC+03:00) |
Executed by | Disputed (see § Attack) |
Casualties | 74–100+[2] killed 300–557+[2][3] injured |
The Khan Shaykhun chemical attack took place on 4 April 2017 on the town of Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib Governorate of Syria. At the time of the attack, the town was under the control of Tahrir al-Sham,[4][5][6][7] formerly known as the al-Nusra Front.[8][9] The town was struck by a heavy airstrike by government forces followed by massive civilian chemical poisoning.[3][10] The release of the toxic gas, likely sarin, killed at least 74 people and injured more than 557, according to the Idlib health authority.[2] The attack was the deadliest use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war since the Ghouta chemical attack in 2013.[11]
The governments of the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey and Israel blamed the attack on the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad,[12][13] The Assad government denied that it used any chemical weapons in the air strike. The Russian Defense Ministry said Syrian aircraft conducted an airstrike on a warehouse containing ammunition and equipment belonging to rebels near Khan Shaykhun, and suggested the warehouse "may have contained a rebel chemical arms stockpile".[14] Kareem Shaheen, the first western journalist to visit the town after the attack, looked at the warehouse that Russia said manufactured chemical weapons but found nothing but empty grain silos, dust and rubble.[15]
In response, on 7 April, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles at Shayrat Air Base, which U.S. intelligence believed was the source of the attack.[16][17]
Background
Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War has been confirmed by the local sources in Syria and by the United Nations. Deadly attacks by chemical weapons during the war include the Ghouta attack in the suburbs of Damascus in August 2013 and the Khan al-Assal attack in the suburbs of Aleppo in March 2013. While no party took responsibility for the chemical attacks, a U.N. fact-finding mission and a UNHRC Commission of Inquiry have both investigated the attacks.
The U.N. mission found likely use of the nerve agent sarin in the case of Khan al-Asal (19 March 2013), Saraqib (29 April 2013), Ghouta (21 August 2013), Jobar (24 August 2013) and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya (25 August 2013). The UNHRC commission later confirmed the use of sarin in the Khan al-Asal, Saraqib and Ghouta attacks, but did not mention the Jobar and the Ashrafiyat Sahnaya attacks. The UNHRC commission also found that the sarin used in the Khan al-Asal attack bore "the same unique hallmarks" as the sarin used in the Ghouta attack and indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to chemicals from the Syrian Army's stockpile. Those attacks prompted the international community to pressure disarmament of the Syrian Armed Forces from chemical weapons, which was executed during 2014. Despite the disarmament process, dozens of incidents with suspected use of chemical weapons followed throughout Syria.
In August 2016, a United Nations report explicitly blamed the Syrian military of Bashar al-Assad for dropping chemical weapons on the towns of Talmenes on 21 April 2014 and Sarmin on 16 March 2015.[18][19] Several other attacks have been alleged, reported and/or investigated. In December 2016, at least 53 people were killed in an alleged chemical weapons attack in ISIL-held villages near Uqairabat that bore similarities to the Ghouta attack, with none of the dead having blast injuries.[20][21] On 30 March 2017, an airstrike hit the town of al-Lataminah in the northern Hama Governorate, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Khan Shaykhun. More than 70 people in the area were then exposed to an unidentified chemical agent and showed symptoms of nausea, agitation, foaming, muscle spasm, and miosis (constriction of the pupil of the eye). Cardiac arrest occurred in two of the victims[22] and an orthopedic doctor died.[23]
Attack
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/2017_Khan_Shaykhun_chemical_attack_frontlines.svg/220px-2017_Khan_Shaykhun_chemical_attack_frontlines.svg.png)
The attack took place around 6:30 a.m. local time on 4 April, before most children and parents had left for school or work.[1][24] Witnesses reported smelling a strange odor about ten minutes after a rocket attack and airstrike,[25] followed by visible symptoms of poisoning.[26] Medical workers and witnesses indicated that the attack was different than the chlorine gas attacks they had experienced in the past, in which the chlorine gas usually killed a few people in confined spaces and buildings. In contrast, in this attack, many people died outside. Furthermore, the victims exhibited pinpoint pupils, a sign of contact with nerve agents and sarin specifically.[27][28] Other symptoms reported included coldness in the extremities, decreased heart rate, and low blood pressure.[26] Some first responders died immediately at the scene[27] and some first responders became ill when they came into contact with the victims.[24] The rebels claimed the site of the aircraft launched chemical weapons attack was a blackened crater approximately 1 foot deep by 6 feet in circumference with the remains of an exploded 122mm artillery shell in it.[29]
Casualties
Medical sources in Idlib in the immediate aftermath of the attack reported more than 58 people, including 11 children, were killed and over 300 were wounded.[3]
By 7:30 a.m. EEST 100 wounded people had arrived at a local field hospital. Minister of health, Mohamad Firas al-Jundi, said that victims experienced suffocation, fluid in the lungs, foaming at the mouth, unconsciousness, spasm, and paralysis.[27] A few hours after the attack, a nearby clinic treating victims was hit by an airstrike. The area's largest hospital had been bombed two days prior.[27] According to Dr. Abdel Hay Tennari, who treated 22 victims of the attack, the symptoms of victims are corresponding to symptoms of exposure to sarin. Patients who received pralidoxime, an antidote of sarin, reportedly stabilized their medical state in around an hour.[25]
On 5 April, local doctors and rescue workers at the scene said that the number of dead had risen to 74, with 600 injured,[30] while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French Ambassador to the United Nations François Delattre said that over 100 had died.[31]
Rescue workers gathered soil and tissue samples and sent them to Western intelligence officials for analysis.[32][33] On 6 April, the Turkish Ministry of Health, which had conducted tests on people transported to Turkey, said that it had identified the chemical used in the attack as sarin, citing lung damage found in victims.[33]
Responsibility
The chemical attack is widely attributed to the Syrian government.[34][35][36][37] Syria denied any involvement,[32] Russia claimed that the deaths were a result of gas released when a government airstrike hit a rebel-operated chemical weapons factory.[38][39] The UN Security Council session unanimously declared the need for an investigation of the chemical attack.[40] According to OPCW, its investigation into the attack is ongoing.[41][42]
Syrian opposition claims
According to the Idlib Media Centre, the chemical agent had the characteristics of sarin. The National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces accused the Ba'athist Syrian government and the Syrian Armed Forces of carrying out the attack and called for an immediate investigation by the United Nations Security Council.[3]
Syrian government claims
On the day of the attack, a Syrian government official told Reuters that "the government does not and has not used chemical weapons, not in the past and not in the future."[43] The pro-government Al-Masdar News cited an army source as saying it had attacked a missile factory in the town using Sukhoi Su-22 bombers, whose bombs Al-Masdar News says cannot be filled with any chemical substances, and did not know the factory contained chemicals.[44] The use of Sukhoi Su-22 aircraft in the attack was also noted by pro-rebel sources (SOHR).[45] Later, the Russian Ministry of Defence reiterated the statement made by the Syrian Armed Forces, but said the attack on the ammunition depot took place between 11:30 and 12:30 EEST.[46]
According to Jerry Smith, the leader of the UN-backed operation that removed the Syrian government's chemical weapons stockpiles, "if it is Sarin that was stored there and conventional munitions were used, there is every possibility that some of those [chemical] munitions were not consumed and that the Sarin liquid was ejected and could well have affected the population."[47]
Walid Muallem, the Syrian foreign minister told journalists at a press conference in Damascus that their armed forces "did not and will not" use chemical weapons, even against "terror groups" fighting against the Syrian government. Muallem also said that "the first reports of the chemical attack appeared several hours before the government airstrike, indicating that the chemical attack may have been a cruel and cynical 'false flag' operation used by the jihadists in a bid for US support."[14] Muallem also promised to provide information to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the United Nations regarding the transfer of chemical substances from Iraq to Syria, or from Turkey to Syria.[48]
Russian government claims
President Vladimir Putin said the attack could be a provocation, but that several versions were possible, and that the UN should investigate the attack.[49][50] According to US administration, Russia bears responsibility for the chemical attack because it participates in the Syrian Civil War to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who conducted the strike. However, the Russian government denied involvement in the chemical attack; Russia's defence ministry issued a statement saying that the Russian Air Force had "not carried out any strikes near Khan Shaykhun of Idlib province", [51] but said a Syrian aircraft did conduct an airstrike on a warehouse containing ammunition and equipment belonging to rebels near Khan Shaykhun, "yesterday, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m".[14][39] The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was "premature to accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in Idlib", and that insist on full and impartial investigation.[42][52] Kareem Shaheen, the first western journalist to visit the town after the attack, looked at the warehouse that Russia said manufactured chemical weapons but found nothing but empty grain silos, dust and rubble. [53]
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the use of chemical weapons is a "dangerous and monstrous crime" and that Russia's support for Assad is not "unconditional". He also doubted that information is based on "objective materials or evidence", and remarked that only Syria can resist terrorists.[54]
Independent analysis
Theodore Postol, Professor Emeritus at MIT, analyzed the evidence referenced in the unclassified intelligence assessment released by the Trump White House and concluded that the assessment “contains absolutely no evidence that this attack was the result of a munition being dropped from an aircraft” and that photographic evidence used in the assessment pointed to an attack by people on the ground using a 122mm artillery rocket tube filled with a chemical agent and detonated by an explosive charge laid on top of it, according to the Russian government-controlled Russia Today news service[55]
US reaction
According to the US government, the Syrian government under Assad was behind the chemical attack,[27] and Syrian jets carried out the bombing of a rebel stronghold.[52] U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was quoted as saying "Either Russia has been complicit or Russia has been simply incompetent".[56] According to Tillerson, the U.S. appealed to Assad to cease the use of chemical weapons, and "[o]ther than that, there is no change to our military posture",[57] with ISIS remaining the primary priority.[58][59]
President Donald Trump called the attack "reprehensible" and attributed it to the Syrian government, saying the act could not be ignored "by the civilized world" during his meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan.[60][61][62] Trump also blamed the attack on supposed failures of the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama.[62][63] U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: "Anyone who uses chemical weapons to attack his own people shows a fundamental disregard for human decency and must be held accountable."[62][64] 72 hours after the attack, the US launched cruise missiles at the Shayrat airfield, from which the chemical attack was believed to have originated.[16] US representative to the UN Nikki Haley has stated that, though before the chemical attack the US had not considered overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power a top US priority, it is now prominent among US priorities in the region.[58] At the UN Security Council, Haley stated that "When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action",[65] by it implying if the UN failed to hold Assad accountable for the use of chemical weapons on civilians, the US will.[66]
On April 11, Secretary James Mattis and General Joseph Votel held a press conference at the Pentagon, stating that Syria had conducted a chemical attacks, with Votel testifying that these were probably undertaken from the airfield which the United States Central Command had struck. Votel stated that the Central Command achieved its objective to limit the capabilities of Syria's offensive resources and that Syrian personnel were not targeted in these strikes. Mattis concluded that his command is embedded in the global strategy whose main concern is the ISIL, and that the airstrike, which had nothing to do with ISIL, was made "so the bar not become lower" whenever international treaties are broken.[67][failed verification]
Military response
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/USS_Ross_2017_Shayrat_strike_170407-N-FQ994-031.jpg/220px-USS_Ross_2017_Shayrat_strike_170407-N-FQ994-031.jpg)
On the morning of 7 April, 2017, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles on Shayrat Airbase, a Syrian airfield near Shayrat, believed to be the base for the aircraft that carried out the chemical attack.[16] In contrast to the coalition's accidental air raid on Deir ez-Zor in 2016, this was both a unilateral action and the first intentional strike against the Syrian government.[68][69]
Reactions
Supranational and non-governmental organizations
- File:AmnestyInternationalLogo.jpg Amnesty International – Amnesty International said the evidence points to an "air-launched chemical attack."[70]
European Union – Federica Mogherini, the European Union's diplomatic chief, called the attack "awful" and said that Bashar al-Assad's government bore "primary responsibility" for it.[71]
- File:OPCW logo.gif Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The OPCW expressed "serious concern" and said that its Fact-Finding Mission in Syria was "gathering and analysing information from all available sources."[72] The following day, the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW, referring to the media reports, requested all member states of the Chemical Weapons Convention to share available information on what it described preliminary as "allegations of use of chemical weapons in the Khan Shaykhun area of Idlib province in the Syrian Arab Republic."[73]
United Nations – Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was "deeply disturbed" by reports of the Idlib chemical attack, noting that the use of chemical weapons is banned under international law.[74]
World Health Organization – The World Health Organization said that victims carried the signs of exposure to nerve agents.[70]
UN resolution
On 12 April 2017, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council Draft resolution condemning the attacks and calling for an investigation. The resolution called upon the Syrian government to fully comply with the prospective investigation.[75] Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had called upon the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to conduct a full inquiry into the attack, while also suggesting that Assad had been falsely implicated.[76]
Countries
Australia – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said if al-Assad was found to be behind the attack, as the United States believe, it represented "a shocking war crime."[77]
Canada – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "There are continuing questions ... about who is responsible for these horrible attacks against civilians, and that's why I'm impressing on the UN Security Council to pass a strong resolution that allows the international community to determine first of all who was responsible for these attacks and how we will move forward."[78]
Czech Republic – Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek announced that the withdrawal of the Czech ambassador from Damascus might follow "if it would be confirmed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's military used chemical weapons in Idlib Province." Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka however rejected this announcement and stated that this would only mean that then less information on the events in Syria would come available.[79]
Egypt – The foreign ministry released a statement saying that the "painful and unacceptable" images of the massacre reaffirm the necessity of reaching a political solution to end the crisis in Syria, in light of the international community decisions and Security Council Resolution 2254, as well as the Geneva Conventions.[80]
France – France called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the attack.[81][82] France, Britain, and the United States (who are among the permanent members of the Security Council), circulated a draft to the Council's 15 members condemning the attack in Syria and demanding a full investigation into it. The three nations are pressing for a vote during the emergency meeting set for on 5 April, but it was unclear whether Russia would support the resolution.[83][84] French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated that the chemical attack was "particularly serious" and added: "I condemn this disgusting act."[81][82]
Iran – President Hassan Rouhani called for an "impartial international fact-finding body" to be set up to investigate the attack.[85] Foreig monister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the incident as "very painful" and condemned it, but also criticized US for attacking the Syrian airbase "without any investigation".[86] Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi condemned "all use of chemical weapons," but suggested the blame for the attack lay with "terrorist groups" rather than the Syrian government.[87]
Iraq – On 7 April, the Iraqi government condemned the chemical attack and called for an "initiative aimed at punishing those responsible". The next day, Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr also condemned the attacks and called for President Assad to step down.[88]
Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community "to fulfill its obligation from 2013 to fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria".[89]
Italy – Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano on Tuesday deplored the suspected chemical attack, calling it "a crime against humanity".[90]
Pakistan – Foreign Office spokesperson condemned the use of chemical weapons and said "the people of Syria have suffered immensely, all stake holders in Syria need to find and work towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict now in its seventh year."[91]
Qatar – Qatar's foreign affairs ministry stated "History has not witnessed such brutal and inhuman crimes as those committed by Assad regime against innocent people in Syria. Shame on humanity's silence."[92]
Saudi Arabia – Saudi ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Abdurrahman bin Sulaiman Al-Ahmad gave a speech at the Brussels Conference on the Future of Syria and the Region where he stressed "a ceasefire, delivery of humanitarian aid, and release of detainees."[93]
Switzerland – Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter has condemned a reported chemical weapons strike in Syria, demanding that "a light be shined" on the truth behind the attack.[94]
Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said such inhumane attacks are unacceptable, according to a statement attributed to presidential sources.[95] Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu condemned the chemical attack by what it claimed was government forces.[96]
United Kingdom – Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador to the United Nations, stated: "This is clearly a war crime. I call on the Security Council members who have previously used their vetoes to defend the indefensible to change their course."[83] This was a reference to Russia and China, who in February 2017 used their vetoes to block a Security Council resolution that would have imposed sanctions on Syrians accused of attacking villages with chlorine gas in 2014 and 2015.[83] The February vote was Russia's seventh veto shielding the Assad government from Security Council action.[84]
Vatican City – Pope Francis stated "I firmly deplore the unacceptable carnage that took place yesterday in Idlib province, where scores of helpless people, including many children, were killed."[97]
See also
- List of massacres during the Syrian Civil War
- Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War
- Syria and weapons of mass destruction
- Khan al-Assal chemical attack
- Ghouta chemical attack
References
- ^ a b Francis, Ellen (4 April 2017). "Scores reported killed in gas attack on Syrian rebel area". Beirut. Reuters. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Idlib town reels following major chemical attack: 'No rebel positions, just people'". Syria:direct. 5 April 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Syria conflict: 'Chemical attack' in Idlib kills dozens". BBC. 4 April 2017.
- ^ SOHRkhan (14 February 2017). "اشتباكات هيئة تحرير الشام وتنظيم جند الأقصى تخلف نحو 70 قتيل بين الطرفين… والأخير يخسر 9 بلدات وقرى خلال الـ 48 ساعة الفائتة". Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ Charkatli, Izat (23 February 2017). "Over 2,000 radical rebels defect to ISIS following intra-rebel deal".
- ^ "Search for the dead begins in Idlib after Islamic State-linked brigade leaves for Raqqa". Syria Direct. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ Chris Tomson (16 February 2017). "Jund al-Aqsa completely besieged by rival rebel factions around two towns in Idlib". al-Masdar News.
- ^ "Tahrir al-Sham: Al-Qaeda's latest incarnation in Syria". BBC News. 28 February 2017
- ^ "Death toll rises in Syria 'gas attack'". Deutsche Welle. 4 April 2017.
- ^ "Witness of Syria chemical attack gives graphic account as death toll climbs". www.thenational.ae. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
The warplane dropped three conventional explosive bombs – and a fourth that made little sound on impact but produced a cloud of smoke.
- ^ "Syria 'toxic gas' attack kills 100 in Idlib province". Al-Arabiya & AFP. 4 April 2017.
- ^ Theodore Schleifer and Dan Merica. "Trump: 'I now have responsibility' when it comes to Syria". CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria chemical 'attack': Russia faces fury at UN Security Council". BBC. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "'Chemical Weapons': The Pipedream Excuse Used in Syria by Two US Administrations". Sputnik News. 9 April 2017.
- ^ Shaheen, Kareem (6 April 2017). "'The dead were wherever you looked': inside Syrian town after gas attack". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ a b c "Syria war: US launches missile strikes following chemical 'attack'". BBC News. 7 April 2017.
- ^ US strikes on Syrian base: what we know – AFP. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ Syria Used Chlorine in Bombs Against Civilians, Report Says. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ "Third report of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons United Nations Joint Investigative Mechanism". 24 August 2016.
- ^ Martin Chulov and Kareem Shaheen (13 December 2016). "International concern over claims of chemical weapon attack in Syria". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Syrian Observatory reports suspected gas attack in Islamic State area near Palmyra". Reuters. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Breaking: Chemical Weapons Attack in Latamneh, Hama Injures 70". Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations. 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Warplanes strike near Syria's Hama as army counter-attacks". Reuters. 30 March 2017.
Speaking to Reuters from Turkey, Abdallah Darwish, head of the health authority for rebel-held parts of Hama province, said air strikes in the south of Latamneh on Thursday morning had injured many people. "The bombardment had a substance that caused intense irritation, heavy foaming from the mouth, and constricting pupils", said Darwish, citing his medical staff on the ground. A chemical attack hit the same area on Saturday, killing an orthopedic doctor, Darwish added.
- ^ a b Meuse, Alison (5 April 2017). "The View From Khan Shaykhun: A Syrian Describes The Attack's Aftermath". NPR. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- ^ a b Alexandra Bradford (5 April 2017). "The Aftermath of an Alleged Chemical Weapon Attack in Idlib". News Deeply.
- ^ a b "Dozens Dead in Syria Chemical Attack". The Wall Street Journal. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e Barnard, Anne; Gordon, Michael R. (4 April 2017). "Worst Chemical Attack in Years in Syria; U.S. Blames Assad". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Facts About Sarin". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ Shaheen, Kareem (6 April 2017). "'The dead were wherever you looked': inside Syrian town after gas attack" – via The Guardian.
- ^ "Death Toll in Suspected Syria Gas Attack Rises". The Wall Street Journal. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ "U.N. Security Council Meets on Syrian Chemical Attack; Death Toll Over 100". The New York Times. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|subscription=
ignored (|url-access=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Loveluck, Louisa; Zakaria, Zakaria (5 April 2017). "World Health Organization: Syria chemical attack likely involved nerve agent". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Banned Nerve Agent Sarin Used in Syria Chemical Attack, Turkey Says". The New York Times. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ^ "US attack on Syria: world leaders react". The Irish Times. 12 April 2017.
- ^ "An official source at Foreign Affairs Ministry expresses Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strong support for US military operations on military targets in Syria". 12 April 2017.
- ^ ""The United Kingdom, with our allies, will continue to seek justice for the victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria and elsewhere."". 12 April 2017.
- ^ "World Health Organization: Syria chemical attack likely involved nerve agent". The Washington Post. 5 April 2017.
{{cite web}}
: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=
(help) - ^ Dewan, Angela; Yan, Holly (5 April 2017). "Survivors of Syrian attack describe chemical bombs falling from sky". CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Syria chemical 'attack': What we know". BBC. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Security Council weighs options over Syria attack". Al Jazeera. 8 April 2017.
- ^ "Media Brief: Reported Use of Chemical Weapons, Southern Idlib, Syria, 4 April 2017". OPCW. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ a b Matthew Chance; Angela Dewan (7 April 2017). "Russia challenges Trump to say what he would do about Syria". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria gas attack: Children among 58 reported killed in Idlib". Middle East Eye. 4 April 2017.
On Tuesday, an unnamed official told the Reuters news agency that the government "does not and has not" used chemical weapons, "not in the past and not in the future".
- ^ Leith Fadel (4 April 2017). "Details of Syrian military attack on southern Idlib town". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Francis, Ellen (4 April 2017). "Scores reported killed in gas attack on Syrian rebel area". Beirut. Reuters.
- ^ "Russia says Syria gas incident caused by rebels' own chemical arsenal". Iraqi News. Reuters. 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Syria chemical killings 'cross many lines' – Trump". Radio New Zealand. 6 April 2017.
– However, the official who led the UN-backed operation to remove Syria's chemical weapons told the UK's Channel 4 News that the Russian version of events could not be discounted. "If it is Sarin that was stored there and conventional munitions were used, there is every possibility that some of those [chemical] munitions were not consumed and that the Sarin liquid was ejected and could well have affected the population," Jerry Smith said.
- ^ "'Did Not' Use Chemical Weapons: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallen". NDTV. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ^ "Vladimir Putin Says the UN Should Investigate the Syria Chemical Weapons Attack". TIME. 11 April 2017.
- ^ "Putin says chemical weapons incident in Syria's Idlib could be a provocation". TASS. 12 April 2017.
- ^ Chemical attack in Idlib draws international condemnation. TRT World. 4 April 2017.
- ^ a b Kerner, Felix; Scott, Eugene (8 April 2017). "Tillerson, Russia's foreign minister discuss Syria strike". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ The Guardian, 6 April 2017the dead were wherever you looked
- ^ "West Keeps Pressure On Russia Over Suspected Syria Chemical Attack". Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty. 6 April 2017.
- ^ "White House claims on Syria chemical attack ‘obviously false’ – MIT professor" 04-12-17 RT News
- ^ Karl, Jonathan; Mallin, Alexander (7 April 2017). "Tillerson: Russia 'complicit' or 'incompetent' with Syria". ABC News. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ Rossoll, Nicki (9 April 2017). "Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: 'No change' to US military position on Syria after strike". ABC News. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ a b Dewan, Angela (9 April 2017). "US envoy Nikki Haley says Syria regime change is 'inevitable'". CNN. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ Greenwood, Max (9 April 2017). "Tillerson: Defeating ISIS 'first priority' in Syria". The Hill. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
- ^ ";Statement from President Donald J. Trump". The White House. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Remarks by President Trump and His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan in Joint Press Conference". The White House. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b c Alexander Smith, Syria Gas Attack Reportedly Kills Dozens in Idlib Province, NBC News (4 April 2017).
- ^ Andrew Rafferty & Stacey Klein, Trump Pins Blame for Syrian Attack on Obama Administration, NBC News (4 April 2017).
- ^ Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria (press release), United States Department of State (4 April 2017).
- ^ Sengupta, Somini; Rick, Gladstone (5 April 2017). "Nikki Haley Says U.S. May 'Take Our Own Action' on Syrian Chemical Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ "U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley warns U.S. "prepared to do more" after Syria strike". CBS News. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
- ^ Phoenix, FOX 10. "BREAKING: Germany Explosion Outside Borussia Dortman Team Bus, Mad Dog Mattis Pentagon Syria Update". youtube.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Lamothe, Dan; Ryan, Missy; Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (6 April 2017). "U.S. strikes Syrian military airfield in first direct assault on Bashar al-Assad's government". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ ABC News staff (7 April 2017). "US warships launch cruise missile strike against Syrian airfield in retaliation for chemical attack". ABC News Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b Dewan, Angela, Kareem Khadder and Holly Yan (5 April 2017). "Survivors of Syrian attack describe chemical bombs falling from sky". CNN. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Assad regime responsible for 'awful' Syria 'chemical' attack: EU's Mogherini". Al Arabiya. 4 April 2017.
- ^ OPCW Press Release on Allegations of Chemical Weapons Use in Southern Idlib, Syria, 4 April 2017.
- ^ [Note verbale of the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW NV/ODG/209302/17 dated 5 April 2017
- ^ Syria: UN chief 'deeply disturbed' by reports of alleged chemical attack; OPCW investigating, UN News Centre (4 April 2016).
- ^ "Russia vetoes UN draft resolution on Syria gas attack probe". The Independent. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ^ "Russia vetoes UN resolution on Syria chemical attack probe". The New Arab. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=
(help) - ^ McIlroy, Tom (5 April 2017). "'A shocking war crime': Malcolm Turnbull condemns chemical weapons deaths in Syria". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ^ Greenwald, Glenn (7 April 2017). "The Spoils of War: Trump Lavished With Media and Bipartisan Praise For Bombing Syria". The Intercept.
- ^ "PM Sobotka condemns chemicals attack in Syria". Praguemonitor.com. 6 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ "Egypt strongly condemns 'indiscriminate bombardment' in Syria's Idlib". Ahram Online. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ a b France wants U.N. Security Council meeting after suspected Syria chemical attack, Reuters (4 April 2017).
- ^ a b Associated Press, France Seeks Emergency UN Meeting After Suspected Chemical Attack in Syria, Reuters (4 April 2017).
- ^ a b c Syria chemical attack: UK, France, US demand action, Agence France-Presse (5 April 2017).
- ^ a b Michelle Nichols, U.N. council to meet Wednesday on suspected Syria toxic gas attack, Reuters (4 April 2017).
- ^ "Iran's Rouhani wants chemical attack in Syria investigated". 8 April 2017.
- ^ "PressTV-US strikes on Syria, dangerous precedent: Zarif".
- ^ "Iran condemns use of chemical weapons in Syria". The punch. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Iraq's Shiite cleric Sadr urges Assad to step down". AFP. 8 April 2017.
- ^ "Israel condemns Syria chemical attack, calls it a 'stain' on humanity". The Indian Express. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Syrian chemical attack crime against humanity, says Italy". Business Standard. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "FO condemns use of chemical weapons in Syria, urges for peaceful resolution of conflict". Dawn. Pakistan. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
- ^ Khatri, Shabina S. (5 April 2017). "'Shame on humanity's silence' – Qatar condemns gas attack in Syria". Doha News. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Saudi condemns chemical attack in Syria". Al-Arabiya. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Switzerland calls for truth behind Syria chemical attack". Swiss Info. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- ^ "Turkey condemns Syria's gas attack, urges Russia over Astana process". Hürriyet Daily News. Ankara. 4 April 2017.
- ^ "No Syrians will be left to decide Assad's fate if attacks continue, FM Çavuşoğlu says". Daily Sabah. 4 April 2017.
- ^ "'Unacceptable carnage' Furious Pope Francis condemns Syria chemical attack". Daily Express. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.