Tensions Mount as Douma Provocation Triggers Syria Strike Threat

After unqualified reports emerged from Douma that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against its own people, Western mainstream media once again said that Bashar Assad was guilty of war crimes. Any alternative accounts were simply dismissed as 'propaganda. Sputnik spoke to international relations expert Xavier Moreau for more.

The US Department of State acknowledged Tuesday that it “can’t comment” on whether or not it has samples from Douma where Washington, Paris and London alleged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gassed his own people.

An American journalist who gained access to the war-torn town of Douma, where the US, France and the UK charged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons against civilians, says he found “no evidence” of a chemical weapons attack.

In an exclusive interview with bTV, Ribal al-Assad has expressed his views on the latest reports about the alleged chemical attack in Douma in Eastern Ghouta, which triggered a massive wave of airstrikes against Syria, carried out jointly by the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

The US-led operation, which started at 9 p.m. EST, was "specifically associated" with chemical research facilities and chemical storage sites, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford said Friday, one hour after the president of the United States announced that military operations were underway.

Footages reportedly taken in Syria shows air-defense interceptors taking flight after US President Donald Trump announced that the US, UK and France would strike Syria.

US President Donald Trump and his British counterpart Theresa May have agreed to engage in close cooperation to elaborate an international response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria’s Douma. Radio Sputnik discussed this with Alberto Negri, a senior adviser at The Italian Institute for International Political Studies.

MADRID (Sputnik) - The escalated situation around Syria should be resolved through the mediation of the UN special envoy, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Friday, adding that the international community should understand that the real enemies of Syria and other countries are terrorists.

After a phone talk, the US and UK government leaders said the countries would cooperate closely on an "international response" to the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's Douma. Alexander Gillespie, a professor of law and specialist in the laws of war and armed conflict from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, has commented on the issue.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Friday "we have a very high confidence" the Syrian government is responsible for an alleged chemical attack.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision not to participate in potential military action against Syria in connection with an alleged chemical attack in Douma was made out of fear of resentment from the German population, Albert Breininge, a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Sputnik.

Donald Trump said there's no specific timeline for US strikes in Syria after he promised airstrikes to hit Syrian targets in retaliation for an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma. Sputnik discussed the situation in Syria with Dr. Meir Elran from the Institute for National Security Studies.

An alleged chemical attack on the city of Douma prompted threats of military intervention against the Syrian Army and other branches of Syria’s armed forces by US President Donald Trump, who warned that President Bashar al-Assad will pay a “heavy price.”

It appears that Donald Trump's threat to send "smart" missiles to Syria is nothing but hot air, Alexander Azadegan, professor of geopolitics at the University of California (UC), told Sputnik, suggesting that Washington is not in a position to unleash a new war on Syria and emphasizing that the US presence in the Arab republic is illegal.

US President Trump stated that a potential US attack on Syria could happen "soon or not soon at all." Trump added that he never specified any particular time for a US attack. Sputnik discussed President Trump's recent tweets with Dr Mohammadbagher Forough, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands.

Tensions around the situation in Syria are heating up, as Washington and its allies are threatening Damascus with a retaliation strike over an alleged chemical attack in the city of Douma blamed on the Syrian government.

On Friday, April 13 campaigners from the Stop the War Coalition (STWC) have staged a protest outside the residence of the UK Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to refrain from joining in any US-led strikes in Syria.

The US and its allies are still considering the possibility of a military response to an alleged chemical attack, blamed on Damascus.

The Kremlin stated that Moscow will not engage in Twitter diplomacy with the United States in response to President Trump’s recent tweets, in which he warned Russia to prepare for missiles coming to Syria. Radio Sputnik discussed this with Oded Eran, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Congressman Salud Carbajal and three other Democratic lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Donald Trump for publishing Twitter posts about possible military strikes in Syria and other US national security matters without first consulting military or diplomatic advisers.