USA/UK/France Strike Syria

On 14 April 2018, beginning at 04:00 Syrian time (UTC+3), France, the United Kingdom, and the United States carried out a series of military strikes, involving manned aircraft and ship-based missiles, against multiple government sites in Syria. The three acting powers did so in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons against people in Douma in eastern Ghouta on 7 April, which they attributed to the Syrian government. Syria denied involvement in the Douma attacks and called the airstrikes a violation of international law.

Background

On 7 April 2018, amidst a government offensive in Eastern Ghouta, a suspected chemical attack was carried out in the Syrian city of Douma, with at least 70 people reported as killed. Several medical, monitoring, and activist groups—including the White Helmets—reported that Syrian Army helicopters dropped barrel bombs. The bombs were suspected to be filled with chemical munitions such as chlorine gas and sarin.

As with previous incidents, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other nations accused the Assad regime of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons. Russia and Iran, the Syrian government's main allies, denied that chemical weapons had been used, claiming that it was a false flag attack. Russia has alleged that video of the chemical attack was staged by members of the White Helmets organization.

In May 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron had said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a red line requiring immediate reprisal. France and the United States cited positive urine and blood samples collected as proof of chlorine being used in Douma.

In the early hours of 9 April 2018, an airstrike was conducted against Tiyas Military Airbase in Syria. The United States denied launching the airstrike, and an Israeli spokeswoman declined to comment.

On 10 April, an emergency UN Security Council meeting was held, where competing solutions on how to handle the response to the alleged chemical attack were presented and ultimately vetoed. By 11 April, each of the western nations began to consider military action in Syria seeking a "strong joint response."

On 11 April, the Syrian government said it had invited the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate the sites of the alleged attacks. “Syria is keen on cooperating with the OPCW to uncover the truth behind the allegations that some western sides have been advertising to justify their aggressive intentions,” state news agency SANA said, quoting an official source in the Foreign Ministry.

On 13 April, after denying that chemical weapons were used, Russia alleged that Britain staged the attack in order to provoke U.S. airstrikes.

Legality of Military Action

The United Nations Charter requires a mandate from the United Nations Security Council for sovereign states to use force for the purpose of maintaining international security. Russia's use of its veto meant there was no prospect of the Security Council authorising such action. Therefore, the legality of military action relies on an international public order argument based on defending the credibility of the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons, enforcing Syria's obligations under the terms of its membership of the Chemical Weapons Convention, and protecting civilians from further chemical weapon attacks to alleviate humanitarian suffering.

The strikes came hours before inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) were due to arrive in Syria to investigate the alleged attack; it had previously been reported that even when the inspectors did have access, they were not allowed into the parts of the sites used for manufacturing and maintenance of chemical weapons.

The United Kingdom published its legal position regarding military action which concluded limited strikes are justified on humanitarian grounds.

Forces Involved in the Strike

The strikes were carried out by the forces of the United States, the United Kingdom and France. The strikes were delivered by ship-based cruise missiles as well as by aircraft. Four British Tornado GR4s, supported by four Eurofighter Typhoons, fired a total of eight Storm Shadow missiles. The French Aquitaine-class frigate Languedoc (D653) fired three Missile de Croisière Naval land attack missiles, and the French Air Force sent five Rafale jets, each carrying two SCALP EG missiles, five Mirage 2000-5F fighters, two E-3 airborne early warning and control planes and six C-135FR tankers. The US forces included B-1 bombers from the 34th Bomb Squadron firing nineteen JASSM-ER missiles. Seven Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Laboon (DDG-58), and thirty from the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Monterey (CG-61) from a position in the Red Sea. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76) fired twenty-three Tomahawks from a position in the Northern part of the Persian Gulf, while the Virginia-class submarine USS John Warner (SSN-785) launched six Tomahawk from the Mediterranean Sea. U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said that twice as many weapons were used in the initial strike as in the 2017 Shayrat missile strike; an anonymous US Defense Department official quoted by The Washington Post said that about 100 Tomahawk missiles were fired by the US.

In total allied forces fired 105 cruise missiles:

• 66 Tomahawk from US Navy ships
• 19 JASSM-ER from US Air Force B-1 bombers
• 9 SCALP/Storm Shadow from French Air Force Rafale fighters
• 8 SCALP/Storm Shadow from Royal Air Force Tornado GR4 fighters
• 3 MdCN from French Navy ships

Syria responded using its air defense systems, and its state media aired a video of missiles being hit the sky by Soviet era s-200 AA systems.. Syrian state news agency SANA, as well as Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian military, claimed that the Syrian air defense systems Pantsir-S1, S-125, S-200, Buk, and Kvadrat intercepted and destroyed many missiles. The Pentagon denied allegations that Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles, saying ¨None of our aircraft or missiles involved in this operation were successfully engaged by Syrian air defenses.”

               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_bombing_of_Damascus_and_Homs