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Syria airstrikes: UN security council to discuss Trump's attack on airbase – live | Syria airstrikes: UN security council to discuss Trump's attack on airbase – live |
(35 minutes later) | |
3.40pm BST | |
15:40 | |
UN Secretary General António Guterres appeals for restraint | |
The UN Secretary General António Guterres has appealed to parties involved in the Syrian conflict for restraint to avoid adding to the suffering of Syria’s people. | |
“Mindful of the risk of escalation, I appeal for restraint to avoid any acts that could deepen the suffering of the Syrian people,” he said in a statement. | |
3.38pm BST | |
15:38 | |
US lawmakers from both parties have backed the airstrikes on Syria and urged Trump to spell out a broader strategy for dealing with the conflict. | |
“I am hopeful these strikes will convince the Assad regime that such actions should never be repeated,” said Senator Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat. | |
But Warner, who said he had been briefed on the strikes by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, urged Trump, a Republican, to lay out his plans for the multi-sided Syria conflict. “President Trump has said repeatedly that his objective in Syria is to defeat [Islamic State militants]. Last night’s strike was aimed at a different objective,” he said in a statement. “President Trump needs to articulate a coherent strategy for dealing with this complex conflict, because the consequences of a misstep are grave.” | |
Armed Services Committee chairman, Senator John McCain, who has long called for more aggressive action against Assad, told MSNBC “the signal I think that was sent last night ... was a very, very important one.” But the Arizona Republican said “despite all the enthusiasm we see this morning, if I might quote Churchill, it’s the end of the beginning not the beginning of the end.” | |
Trump, McCain added, should be “prepared to take other action,” including establishing safe zones within Syria and further arming and training of anti-Assad rebels. | |
Several lawmakers said Trump should seek Congress’ approval if he decides to take additional military action in Syria. Senator Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, said the strikes in Syria could send a message to other US adversaries such as North Korea. “I think the time has come for some of these countries to be worried about us a little bit, not us always worried about what they might do,” Rubio told Fox News. | |
Updated | |
at 3.38pm BST | |
3.33pm BST | |
15:33 | |
Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are meeting for a second day at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as planned Friday, AP reports. | |
Their first-night summit dinner wrapped up shortly before the US announced the missile barrage on an air base in Syria last night. | |
3.20pm BST | |
15:20 | |
“It’s unclear how US air strikes will make civilians safer”, Lord Wood of Anfield, chair of the United Nations Association UK has said. | |
In a blog post, Wood wrote: “Unilateral action without broad international backing through the UN, without a clear strategy for safeguarding civilians, and through military escalation risks further deepening and exacerbating an already protracted and horrific conflict, leaving civilians at greater, not lesser, risk of atrocities.” | |
He added that by circumventing the UN “we reduce both legitimacy and effectiveness, as a course of action that does not have the broad support of regional powers and the international community, channelled through UN systems and processes, can have little chance of success in leading to a more stable Syria.” | |
3.15pm BST | |
15:15 | |
GENEVA (AP) _ UN Syria envoy tells AP his office is in `crisis mode' after US strike, calls emergency meeting in Geneva. | |
3.05pm BST | 3.05pm BST |
15:05 | 15:05 |
Nadia Khomami | Nadia Khomami |
The situation in Syria “amounts to an international armed conflict” following the US airstrike on a Syrian airbase, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said. | |
Iolanda Jaquemet, its spokeswoman, said: “Any military operation by a state on the territory of another without the consent of the other amounts to an international armed conflict. So according to available information, the US attack on Syrian military infrastructure, the situation amounts to an international armed conflict.” | |
ICRC officials were raising the attack with US authorities as part of ongoing confidential dialogue with parties to the conflict, she added. | |
Updated | |
at 3.12pm BST | |
2.16pm BST | 2.16pm BST |
14:16 | 14:16 |
The UN security council will meet at 4.30pm UK time to discuss US strikes in Syria, according to Reuters. | The UN security council will meet at 4.30pm UK time to discuss US strikes in Syria, according to Reuters. |
Updated | Updated |
at 2.51pm BST | at 2.51pm BST |
2.00pm BST | 2.00pm BST |
14:00 | 14:00 |
Rebel Free Syrian Army welcomes airstrikes but fear retaliation – reports | Rebel Free Syrian Army welcomes airstrikes but fear retaliation – reports |
The Free Syrian Army has released a statement welcoming the US airstrikes in Syria but have warned the US “responsibility is still big and does not end with this operation”, Reuters reports. | The Free Syrian Army has released a statement welcoming the US airstrikes in Syria but have warned the US “responsibility is still big and does not end with this operation”, Reuters reports. |
The rebel group said it was afraid of acts of revenge against civilians by Assad and his allies and said military operations targeting airbases and banned weapons should continue. | The rebel group said it was afraid of acts of revenge against civilians by Assad and his allies and said military operations targeting airbases and banned weapons should continue. |
Updated | Updated |
at 2.52pm BST | at 2.52pm BST |
1.45pm BST | 1.45pm BST |
13:45 | 13:45 |
There has been more support for Trump’s airstrikes in Syria, this time from Canada and Jordan. | There has been more support for Trump’s airstrikes in Syria, this time from Canada and Jordan. |
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement: “Canada fully supports the United States’ limited and focused action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against innocent civilians, including many children. | Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement: “Canada fully supports the United States’ limited and focused action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against innocent civilians, including many children. |
“President Assad’s use of chemical weapons and the crimes the Syrian regime has committed against its own people cannot be ignored.” | “President Assad’s use of chemical weapons and the crimes the Syrian regime has committed against its own people cannot be ignored.” |
The Jordanian state news agency, Petra, reported that the Jordanian administration said the US missile strike was “necessary and appropriate”. | The Jordanian state news agency, Petra, reported that the Jordanian administration said the US missile strike was “necessary and appropriate”. |
Updated | Updated |
at 2.51pm BST | at 2.51pm BST |
1.20pm BST | 1.20pm BST |
13:20 | 13:20 |
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has backed the US airstrikes in Syria in a piece for the Guardian. | The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has backed the US airstrikes in Syria in a piece for the Guardian. |
It starts: | It starts: |
I am in no doubt that what will end the war in Syria is what ultimately ends every conflict: words and diplomacy, not weapons. But when diplomacy fails and civilians suffer, as they have been doing for many years in Syria, and when they are the victim of weapons that have been outlawed by the international community for their horrific and indiscriminate consequences, then we cannot shy away from proportionate military intervention. | I am in no doubt that what will end the war in Syria is what ultimately ends every conflict: words and diplomacy, not weapons. But when diplomacy fails and civilians suffer, as they have been doing for many years in Syria, and when they are the victim of weapons that have been outlawed by the international community for their horrific and indiscriminate consequences, then we cannot shy away from proportionate military intervention. |
Updated | Updated |
at 1.52pm BST | at 1.52pm BST |
1.03pm BST | 1.03pm BST |
13:03 | 13:03 |
1.03pm BST | 1.03pm BST |
13:03 | 13:03 |
Here’s a round up of global reaction to the US airstrikes in Syria: | Here’s a round up of global reaction to the US airstrikes in Syria: |