US warns Syria over suspected chemical weapons attack
Chase Winter
May 22, 2019
Washington has told Syria that it will "respond quickly and appropriately" to any chemical weapons use. The threat comes as a fragile ceasefire in rebel-held Idlib risks unraveling.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/O. Haj Kadour
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The United States continues to see signs the Syrian government may be using chemical weapons, including a possible chlorine attack in northwest Syria on Sunday, the State Department said Tuesday.
The State Department said it was still gathering information on an alleged May 19 chlorine attack in the last major rebel-held enclave of Idlib, and warned of consequences.
"We repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately," the statement said.
US President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on Syrian military installations in April 2017 and April 2018 in response to alleged chemical weapons use by the Assad regime.
Who's fighting in the Syria conflict?
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
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Fragile ceasefire in Idlib
In September, Turkey, which backs some rebel factions, and Russia, a key backer of Damascus, agreed to establish a de-escalation zone that includes southern Idlib, northern Hama and parts of Latakia.
The agreement came amid international concern that a Syrian regime offensive would displace hundreds of thousands of vulnerable civilians and send a flood of refugees and extremist fighters to Turkey — and potentially on to Europe.
Idlib is controlled by the al-Qaida-linked jihadi umbrella group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and an array of rebel factions. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is not a party to the ceasefire.
Moscow and Damascus have accused jihadi forces of carrying out multiple assaults since early April, including a dozen attempts to attack Russia's Hmeymim air base using drones and missiles.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, has documented indiscriminate Syrian government and Russian warplane attacks in Idlib, as well as jihadi attacks on Syrian government forces.
Russia: Syrian War trophies on tour
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US accuses Russia of disinformation campaign
The Russian military said Tuesday that al-Qaida-linked militants had again launched attacks on Syrian government forces in northwest Syria.
Major General Viktor Kupchishin, the head of the Russian military's Reconciliation Center in Syria, said militants captured by Syrian troops admitted to a plan to stage a fake chemical weapons attack in the towns of Saraqib and Jarjanaz in order to blame the Syrian government.
The State Department claimed that Russian allegations are part of a "disinformation campaign by the Assad regime and Russia to create the false narrative that others are to blame for chemical weapons attacks that the Assad regime is itself conducting."
"The facts, however, are clear," the statement said. "The Assad regime itself has conducted almost all verified chemical weapons attacks that have taken place in Syria — a conclusion the United Nations has reached over and over again."
