U.S. May Act Alone if U.N. Fails to Respond
The U.S. could take unilateral action if the U.N. fails to react to an alleged chemical weapon attack that killed an estimated 86 people in northern Syria on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported.
“When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action,” U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said in an emergency U.N. Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Wednesday.
The U.S., U.K. and France proposed a draft resolution to investigate the attack, on the town of Khan Shaykhoun in rebel-held Idlib province, which they blamed on the Syrian government. Russia, a key ally of Bashar al-Assad’s government, has blamed the rebels, saying the government airstrike had hit a rebel chemical weapons warehouse.
Moscow said the proposal was “categorically unacceptable,” and the UNSC talks ended without a vote on the resolution.
At Least 18 People Killed in Government Bombing Outside Damascus
Syrian government warplanes continue to target Eastern Ghouta, the last rebel enclave outside the capital, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitoring group.
At least 18 people were killed in government airstrikes on the town of Saqba in Eastern Ghouta on Wednesday, including five children. The death toll is expected to rise, according to SOHR.
So-Called Islamic State Executes 33 People in Desert
The so-called Islamic State executed 33 people aged 18–25 in Deir Ezzor province on Wednesday, according to SOHR.
The militants used sharp tools for the executions, which took place in the desert near the city of al-Mayadin in the Deir Ezzor countryside, which is under ISIS’s control. The militants are besieging the provincial capital, which is under government control.
The people executed were not identified, and it is unknown whether they were civilians or fighters. This is the first – and largest – mass execution carried out by ISIS in 2017.
RECOMMENDED READS:
- The New York Times: Trump’s View of Syria and Assad Altered After ‘Unacceptable’ Chemical Attack
- The Atlantic Council: Voices of the Truth: Journalists of Eastern Ghouta
- The Boston Globe: Images From Syria Too Awful to Look at, and Too Important to Look Away
- Financial Times: Syria Conflict: Raqqa’s Civilians Foresee Last Days of ISIS
- The Washington Post: How Two U.S. Marxists Wound Up on the Front Lines Against ISIS