The United States has launched a missile strike on Syria in cooperation with France and Britain. Several powerful explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus, eyewitnesses said, adding that they saw clouds of smoke on the east side of the city.
The one-hour strikes against Syria's chemical weapons program by the United States, France and Britain have sent a "clear message" to President Bashar al-Assad, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said. whole business.
"It is clear that the Assad regime did not receive the message last year," Matisse said, referring to the April 2017 US strike on the al-Sairat military base near Homs following a chemical weapons attack on Damascus.
"This time, our allies and we hit harder. "We have sent a clear message to Assad and his deputy leaders: they must not carry out another chemical weapons attack because they must be held accountable," he said during a news conference.
"It is time for all civilized nations to unite urgently and end the civil war in Syria in support of the United Nations peace process in Geneva," he concluded.
U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Joe Dunford said Western forces struck at 04 a.m. (Greek time) three targets linked to the Syrian chemical weapons program, one near Damascus and two others in the Homs area. in central Syria.
These blows "ended" at 05:00 (Greek time), added General Danford, clarifying that there were no American losses.
The head of the French General Staff, General François Lecouard, was present at the Pentagon press conference.
General Danford said no further operation was planned at the moment, adding that the allies had avoided hitting Russian forces, which have a large presence in the country, and that Moscow had not been notified in advance of the operation.
"I have authorized the British Armed Forces to conduct coordinated and targeted attacks to undermine the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capabilities," British Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier. Respectively, the President of France Emanuel Macron ordered the French military intervention in Syria together with the USA and Britain.
The Damascus regime condemned the US-France-Britain military operation against targets in Syria, saying it was "doomed to fail" and described it as a "gross violation of international law", according to the state-run SANA news agency. . Local authorities say the Syrian air force fired 13 missiles.
Russia's reaction is strong
The actions taken tonight in Syria will have consequences and all the responsibility belongs to the USA, the United Kingdom and France, said in a statement the ambassador of Russia in Washington, Anatoly Antonov. "The worst fears have come true. Our warnings were not heeded. A pre-designed scenario applies. Again, we are threatened. "We have warned that such actions will not go unnoticed," Antonov said. "All the responsibility for them lies with Washington, London and Paris," he added.
"The Syrian people were first tested by the 'Arab Spring', then by the Islamic State, now by smart American missiles. "The capital of a sovereign government, which has been trying for years to survive a terrorist attack, has come under attack," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook. "You have to be very abnormal to attack the Syrian capital just when it had a chance for a peaceful future," he added.
Source: ΑΠΕ, REUTERS, SPUTNIK