Chemical-weapons attack kills dozens in Syria
Trump blames Assad, earlier ‘weakness’ by Obama administration
BEIRUT — A chemical-weapons attack in an opposition-held town in northern Syria killed dozens of people on Tuesday, leaving residents gasping for breath and convulsing in the streets and overcrowded hospitals. In the U.S., the Trump administration blamed the Syrian government for the attack, one of the deadliest in years, and said Syria’s patrons, Russia and Iran, bore “great moral responsibility” for the deaths.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 58 people died, including 11 children, in the earlymorning attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which witnesses said was carried out by Sukhoi jets operated by the Russian and Syrian governments.
Videos from the scene showed volunteer medics using fire hoses to wash the chemicals from victims’ bodies. Haunting images of lifeless children piled in heaps reflected the magnitude of the attack, which was reminiscent of a 2013 chemical assault that left hundreds dead and was the worst in the country’s ruinous six-year civil war.
Tuesday’s attack drew swift condemnation from world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, who denounced it as a “heinous” act that “cannot be ignored by the civilized world.” The United Nations Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting for today in response to the strike, which came on the eve of a major international donors’ conference in Brussels on the future of Syria and the region.
In a statement, Trump also blamed former U.S. president Barack Obama for “weakness” in failing to respond aggressively after the 2013 attack.
“These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the past administration’s weakness and irresolution,” Trump said.
Trump left it to his top diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, to assign at least some blame to Russia and Iran, Assad’s most powerful allies. Tillerson called on both countries to use their influence over Assad to prevent future chemical weapons attacks, and noted Russia’s and Iran’s roles in helping broker a ceasefire through diplomatic talks in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
“As the self-proclaimed guarantors to the ceasefire negotiated in Astana, Russia and Iran also bear great moral responsibility for these deaths,” Tillerson said.
In a statement, the Syrian gov- ernment “categorically rejected” claims that it was responsible, asserting that it does not possess chemical weapons, hasn’t used them in the past and will not use them in the future.
It laid the blame squarely on the rebels, accusing them of fabricating the attack and trying to frame the Syrian government.
The Russian Defence Ministry also denied any involvement in the attack.