The US has threatened further military action in Syria following its strikes on a military airbase in response to this week’s alleged chemical attack.
59 Tomahawk missiles were fired at the al-Shayrat airbase in Homs province, western Syrian early on Friday morning.
Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the United Nations delivered the warning on Friday during an emergency session of the UN Security Council . She said: “The United States took a very measured step last night,….we are prepared to do more, but we hope it will not be necessary.”
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Russia accused the US of encouraging “terrorists” with its unilateral actions and has promised to strengthen its ally Syria’s anti-aircraft defences.
Press TV reports:
The missiles were launched from the destroyers USS Porter and USS Ross in the eastern Mediterranean. The strike killed nine civilians, including four children on Friday, according to Syria’s state news agency SANA.
US President Donald Trump ordered the strike just a day after he pointed the finger at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the deadly attack which killed at least 70 people in the town of Khan Shaykhun in Idlib.
President Trump said the operation was in response to the chemical attack in Idlib province. The Syrian government has strongly denied responsibility for that attack.
Haley told the Security Council, “We were fully justified in doing so.”
“The United States will no longer wait for Assad to use chemical weapons without any consequences,” she said without providing a shred of evidence to back her claim. “Those days are over.”
“Assad did this because he thought he could get away with it,” she stated. “He thought he could get away with it because he thought Russia had his back. That changed last night.”
Meanwhile, Russia, which called the emergency Security Council meeting on Friday, condemned the United States for violating international law and committing an “act of aggression” against Syria.
Niamh Harris
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