Published 14 April 2018
From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP
At 0200 UK time on 14 April, British forces joined close Allies in a precision strike on Syrian installations involved in the regime’s use of chemical weapons against its own people. The strike was launched as a response to the chemical weapon attack on 7 April in Douma which killed up to 75 people, including young children; a significant body of information, including intelligence, indicates that the Syrian regime was responsible for this latest attack.
As the Prime Minister has made clear, this pattern of behaviour must be stopped, not just to protect innocent people in Syria from these horrific weapons, but also because the erosion cannot be allowed of the international norms that prevent the use of chemical weapons.
Our action is proportionate, specifically aimed at degrading the regime’s ability to use chemical weapons and deterring further such appalling acts; it is therefore focused on regime facilities linked to the production and use of chemical weapons.
The UK element of the carefully coordinated joint action was contributed by four Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s. They launched Storm Shadow missiles at a military facility – a former missile base – some fifteen miles west of Homs, where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapon precursors stockpiled in breach of Syria’s obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. Very careful scientific analysis was applied to determine where best to target the Storm Shadows to maximise the destruction of the stockpiled chemicals and to minimise any risks of contamination to the surrounding area. The facility which was struck is located some distance from any known concentrations of civilian habitation, reducing yet further any such risk.
Detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the strike is currently underway, but initial indications are that the precision of the Storm Shadow weapons and meticulous target planning have resulted in a successful attack.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
The reprehensible use of chemical weapons in Douma is further evidence of the Syrian regime’s appalling cruelty against its own people. We will not stand by whilst innocent civilians, including women and children, are killed and made to suffer.
The international community has responded decisively with legal and proportionate military force. Let these united actions send a clear message to the regime – the use of chemical weapons is categorically unacceptable and you will be held to account.
EEUU: https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcript ... -in-syria/
Briefing by Secretary Mattis on U.S. Strikes in Syria
Press Operations
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph F. Dunford; Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White
April 14, 2018
...
General Dunford will provide a military update.
GENERAL JOSEPH F. DUNFORD: Good evening. I'm joined by our French attaché Brigadier General Montague and our British Attached Air Vice Marshal Gavin Parker. Secretary Mattis has just outlined the policy and legal framework for tonight's strike in Syria. I'll address the strike for the military dimension.
At 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, French, British and U.S. forces struck targets in Syria in support of President Trump's objective to deter the future use of chemical weapons. Our forces were integrated throughout the planning and execution of the operation.
The targets that were struck and destroyed were specifically associated with the Syrian regime's chemical weapons program. We also selected targets that would minimize the risk to innocent civilians.
The first target was a scientific research center located in the greater Damascus area. This military facility was a Syrian center for the research, development, production and testing of chemical and biological warfare technology.
The second target was a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs. We assessed that this was the primary location of Syrian sarin and precursor production equipment.
The third target, which was in the vicinity of the second target, contained both a chemical weapons equipment storage facility and an important command post.
...
Q: General Dunford, you mentioned that the Russian -- or the Syrian air defenses had engaged, but Syrian State TV is saying they shot down 13 Tomahawk missiles. Can you refute that?
GEN. DUNFORD: Jennifer, I can't tell you the results. We literally, as you know, the -- the time on target was about an hour ago, and we came straight up here to give you the best information we have right now.
Tomorrow morning, as the secretary will talk about in a minute, we'll give you the more detailed operational update and some of the details, but those details aren't available to us right now.
...
Y Francia: http://www.elysee.fr/communiques-de-pre ... -en-syrie/
Publié le 14 Avril 2018
Le samedi 7 avril 2018, à Douma, des dizaines d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants ont été massacrés à l’arme chimique, en totale violation du droit international et des résolutions du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies.
Les faits et la responsabilité du régime syrien ne font aucun doute.
La ligne rouge fixée par la France en mai 2017 a été franchie.
J’ai donc ordonné aux forces armées françaises d’intervenir cette nuit, dans le cadre d’une opération internationale menée en coalition avec les Etats-Unis d’Amérique et le Royaume-Uni et dirigée contre l’arsenal chimique clandestin du régime syrien.
Notre réponse a été circonscrite aux capacités du régime syrien permettant la production et l’emploi d’armes chimiques.
Nous ne pouvons pas tolérer la banalisation de l’emploi d’armes chimiques, qui est un danger immédiat pour le peuple syrien et pour notre sécurité collective. C’est le sens des initiatives constamment portées par la France au Conseil de Sécurité des Nations unies.
La France et ses partenaires reprendront, dès aujourd’hui, leurs efforts aux Nations unies pour permettre la mise en place d’un mécanisme international d’établissement des responsabilités, prévenir l’impunité et empêcher toute velléité de récidive du régime syrien.
Depuis mai 2017, les priorités de la France en Syrie sont constantes : terminer la lutte contre Daech, permettre l’accès de l’aide humanitaire aux populations civiles, enclencher une dynamique collective pour parvenir à un règlement politique du conflit, afin que la Syrie retrouve enfin la paix, et veiller à la stabilité de la région.
Je poursuivrai ces priorités avec détermination dans les jours et les semaines à venir.
Conformément à l’article 35, alinéa 2, de la Constitution, le Parlement sera informé et un débat parlementaire sera organisé, suite à cette décision d’intervention de nos forces armées à l'étranger.
