West plans strike on Syria
The Syrian situation is getting more complicated. The US is poised to launch a strike on Syria and US President Barack Obama is consulting allies about possible armed intervention. Several sources including Aljazeera television said Western powers told the Syrian opposition in clear terms at their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, that an attack on Syria should be expected within days to deter further use of chemical weapons by the army. The two sides discussed a list of potential targets including military airports, military headquarters, and missile depots. Other potential targets include military bases used to fire missiles like the 155th Brigade near Damascus and weapon sites controlled by the Syrian army.
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| A man holds the body of a dead child among bodies of people activists say were killed by nerve gas. (Photo: Reuters) |
In response, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said Tuesday that Syria vows to defend itself in ways that will surprise the world. Russia and Iran strongly condemned military intervention in Syria and warned of unpredictable consequences. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the ploy of creating false evidence of chemical weapons in Syria as pretext for external military intervention and the ignoring of warnings by the UN Security Council are likely to be disastrous to Syria and the Middle East-North Africa region. Russia called on the US and the world community to strictly comply with international law, particularly basic principles of the UN Charter.