Trump vows quick action on alleged Syria chemical attack

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‍US President Donald Trump on Monday promised quick, forceful action in response to a "barbaric" suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, hinting at a potential military response.

Speaking at a meeting with military leaders and national security advisers, Trump said he would decide by Monday night "or very shortly thereafter" on a response, adding that the US had “a lot of options militarily” on Syria.

"But we can't let atrocities like we all witnessed... we can't let that happen in our world... especially when we're able to because of the power of the United States, the power of our country, we're able to stop it."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Moscow will not accept "provocation and speculation" around the latest suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, according to a Kremlin statement.

Putin made the remarks during a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"The two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria, including chemical attack accusations made by a number of Western states against official Damascus. Russia's position – that it is unacceptable to use this as an opportunity for provocation and speculation – was conveyed," the statement read.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a joint press conference with the leaders of Turkey and Iran as part of a tripartite summit on Syria, in Ankara, April 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

The suspected chemical weapons attack late on Saturday killed at least 60 people, with more than 1,000 injured in several sites in Douma, a city near the capital Damascus, according to the Union of Medical Care Organizations (UOSSM), a Syrian aid organization.

"The numbers keep rising as relief workers struggle to gain access to the subterranean areas where gas has entered and hundreds of families had sought refuge," it said.

One video shared by activists showed bodies of about a dozen children, women and men, some with foam at the mouth.

An image grab taken from a video released by the Syrian civil defense in Douma shows an unidentified volunteer holding an oxygen mask over a child's face at a hospital following a reported chemical attack on the rebel-held town, April 8, 2018. /VCG Photo

Britain and the US agreed on Monday that the attack bore the hallmarks of previous chemical weapons attacks by Assad's government, but neither country gave details of what kind of chemical might have been used or how the attack was staged.

The US president, who had sought warmer relations with Russia, on Sunday criticized Putin on Twitter as he castigated Russia and Iran for backing "Animal Assad."

The US envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said Washington "will respond" to the attack regardless of whether the UN Security Council acts or not.

The Russian military said on Monday its medics had examined patients in a hospital in Douma and had found no traces of a chemical attack, Interfax news agency reported.

The US urged Russia and the Syrian government to allow international monitors access to the affected areas.

International bodies led by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), based in The Hague, opened an investigation on Monday to determine whether dozens of people were gassed to death in the attack.

The Syrian government and Russia have denied involvement in the attack.

"The images, especially of suffering children, have shocked the conscience of the entire civilized world," White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said. "Sadly, these actions are consistent with Assad’s established pattern of chemical weapons use."

The US fired missiles on a Syrian air base a year ago in response to the killing of dozens of civilians in a sarin gas attack in an opposition-held town. The missile strikes did little long-term damage to Syrian government forces and Assad’s position has only become stronger with Iranian and Russian support.

The stakes are higher for any new US military action, with Trump explicitly mentioning Iran and Russia in connection with the weekend attack.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday accused Russia of falling short on its obligations to ensure that Syria abandoned its chemical weapons capabilities.

Russia and Syria both offered during the UN Security Council meeting on Monday to take OPCW investigators to Douma.

Monday air strikes

The Syria conflict was further complicated on Monday when unidentified warplanes struck a Syrian air base near Homs, killing at least 14 people, including Iranian personnel. Syria and Russia accused Israel of carrying out the attack.

Israel, which has struck Syrian army locations many times in the course of its neighbor’s 7-year-old civil war, has neither confirmed nor denied mounting the raid.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency