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UK threatens further measures against Syria

Sunday, 15 April 2018 3:51 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 15 April 2018 4:18 PM ]

British Foreign Minister Boris (Photo by AFP)

Britain’s foreign minister says London will study the “options” with its allies if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad again uses chemical weapons.

“There is no proposal on the table at the moment for further attacks because so far thank heavens the Assad regime have not been so foolish as to launch another chemical weapons attack,” Boris Johnson said on Sunday in an interview with the BBC

Johnson backed UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s decision to join the United States and France to strike chemical weapons facilities in Syria on Saturday, saying it was the right thing to do to deter the further use of chemical weapons.

The Syrian government has rejected claims that it was behind the suspected chemical attack near the capital Damascus on April 7. The attack purportedly took place in the former militant-held town of Douma in Eastern Ghouta.

The American military described that attack as "precision strikes" on three targets in Syria that it falsely claimed to be associated with the country's alleged chemical weapons arsenal, without producing any evidence.

The strike has drawn global outcry since it was carried out before the international chemical weapons watchdog could probe the incident.

Russia said the chemical attack was staged by desperate militants to provoke further intervention in the conflict by the West.

UK opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has sharply criticized May for following the orders of US President Donald Trump in launching missile strikes against Syria, saying “bombs won't save lives or bring about peace.”

Corbyn, a veteran anti-war campaigner, said Saturday that May should have sought approval from the UK Parliament before ordering the attack, which he said could escalate the conflict.

"Britain should be playing a leadership role to bring about a ceasefire in the conflict, not taking instructions from Washington and putting British military personnel in harm's way,” he added.

Leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn (Photo by AFP)

Corbyn said the only acceptable legal basis to legitimize such a military strike would either have to be self-defense, or the authority of the UN Security Council.

Syria, as well as many other countries and organizations, condemned the brutal attack as a flagrant violation of international law.

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