Syria strikes - as it happened: Bashar al-Assad's chemical weapons capability 'set back for years' by bombing, Pentagon says
Theresa May warns of further strikes if regime uses poison again
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Your support makes all the difference.Joint air strikes by the US, UK and France have set back Syria’s chemical weapons capability “for years”, the US military said.
Cruise missiles were fired at three sites in response to what Theresa May called the “despicable and barbaric” attack in Douma last week that is believed to have killed up to 75 people.
Ms May said Bashar al-Assad could face even further strikes if chemical weapons are used again - and the US warned that they were "locked and loaded" if poison used again.
US President Donald Trump declared “mission accomplished” after more than 100 missiles were collectively launched in the early hours of the morning.
During telephone conversations on Saturday afternoon, Ms May, Mr Trump and Emmanuel Macron all agreed that the military strikes in Syria "had been a success".
Downing Street published a document setting out why it believes military action against the Syrian regime was legal after Jeremy Corbyn described the action as legally questionable.
The Russian embassy in the US said it had warned that such actions would "not be left without consequences", adding that insulting President Vladimir Putin was "unacceptable and inadmissible".
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Russia and Syria claimed most of the missiles, numbering about 110, were intercepted, while the Pentagon said Syrian defences had “no effect” on the operation.
Mr Assad, backed also by Iran, said on Saturday the bombings would increase his country’s resolve to “fight and crush terrorism”.
Ms May said she had authorised British forces to conduct precision strikes against Syria to help degrade its chemical weapons capability.
“This is not about intervening in a civil war. It is not about regime change,” Ms May said in a statement. “It is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties.”
RAF Tornado jets bombed a chemical weapons facility 15 miles outside Homs, the Ministry of Defence said.
Russia warned of “consequences” for the US-led military strikes, saying the use of missiles on suspected chemical weapons assets were an insult to Vladimir Putin.
“A pre-designed scenario is being implemented,” Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said in a statement. “Again, we are being threatened. We warned that such actions will not be left without consequences.”
Earlier, Russia’s military claimed to have evidence that Britain had “direct involvement” in staging the suspected chemical attack in Syria, a charge quickly condemned as “grotesque” by the UK.
Humanitarian volunteers were “seriously pressured” by the UK to speed up plans for a “provocation” in eastern Ghouta, Moscow’s defence ministry suggested.
Britain’s ambassador to the UN condemned the “blatant lie” as “the worst piece of fake news we’ve yet seen from the Russian propaganda machine”.
Later, a spokesman for the UK Foreign Office said: “These accusations from Moscow are just the latest in a number of ludicrous allegations from Russia, who have also said that no attack ever happened.
“This simply shows their desperation to pin the blame on anyone but their client: the [President Bashar] Assad regime
It comes as Russia and the United States traded fresh blows during the latest round of talks at the UN Security Council and amid warnings that the world is at risk of “full-blown military escalation”.
The State Department said the United States has proof at “a very high level of confidence” that the Syrian government of Mr Assad carried out the attack but is still working to identify the mix of chemicals used.
“Syria is responsible. We are all in agreement,” department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.
Additional reporting by agencies
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, has said the Netherlands is not considering joining possible military action in Syria, even though it is probable that banned chemical weapons were used by the government.
"We have understanding for a possible reaction, but at this time it is not on the table that the Netherlands would participate", Mr Rutte said.
Alexander Yakovenko, Russia's ambassador to the UK, told a press conference in London: "The Syrian government had been repeatedly warning for at least a month that rebels prepared to stage a provocation with chemical weapons in this very area."
Mr Yakovenko said international inspectors were expected in Syria on Saturday, adding: "But I believe that any delay may be used to carry out military strikes to cover up all the evidence, or lack there of, on the ground."
He went on to show footage of former prime minister Tony Blair apologising for intelligence mistakes in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Mr Yakovenko said the US and its allies had provided "no tangible proof" to back up claims the Syrian government was responsible for the attack.
He added: "We are witnessing very dangerous developments in Syria. The current US politics, supported almost mechanically by France and the UK, is becoming a threat to the peace and security in the region and beyond."
Russia's ambassador has accused the British authorities of destroying evidence in the Salisbury nerve agent attack.
Alexander Yakovenko said the UK had yet to produce the evidence to back its claims that Russia was responsible for the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.
"The British government still hasn't produced any evidence in support of its position that would confirm their official version," he told a news conference at the Russian embassy in London.
"We get the impression the British Government is deliberately pursuing the policy of destroying all possible evidence."
Mr Yakovenko complained at the continued refusal of the British authorities to grant consular access to Ms Skripal following her discharge from hospital.
He questioned the authenticity of a statement issued by Ms Skripal through the Metropolitan Police saying she did not want to meet Russian officials.
"We are not allowed to see our citizens, talk to doctors, have no idea about the treatment the Russian nationals receive," he said.
"We cannot be sure that Yulia's refusal to see us is genuine. We have every reason to see such actions as the abduction of two Russian nationals.
"The statement made by Scotland Yard on behalf of Yulia Skripal only confirms our suspicions."
He also said a claim by a British security advisor on Friday that Russia spied on the former double agent and his daughter for at least five years before they were attacked with a nerve agent was a "big surprise."
"If someone was spying, why were the British services not complaining about that?" Mr Yakovenko told reporters.
"They always complain if something goes wrong. We didn't see any signs, any applications from the British side that they are not happy with the way Skripals were living in Salisbury."
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has been speaking a meeting of the body's Security Council - with Russia having requested his presence.
He called the reports of use of chemical weapons "abhorrent" but said there is "no military solution" to the crisis in Syria.
He added that the increasing tensions over Syria threatens to "lead to full-blown military escalation".
Mr Guterres urged all states "to act responsibly in these dangerous circumstances."
"Increasing tensions and the inability to reach a compromise in the establishment of an accountability mechanism threaten to lead to a full-blown military escalation," he added.
After the Russian ambassador took a turn - again denying the chemical attack, US Ambassador to the UN - Nikki Haley is now speaking.
Ms Haley says the apparent chemical attack is a break with "all morality".
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