Syria: US forces fire 'some 50' Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian base

Tomahawk Cruise missile

The US military has fired ‘some 50’ Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian aircraft, an airstrip and fuel stations according to American authorities.

An official confirmed the site targeted is under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. US media says the airfield is located near Homs. The Pentagon confirmed the exact objective was the Shayrat airfield.

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Speaking ahead of the strikes, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Assad should have no role in a future Syria.

Ordered by President Donald Trump, the strikes follow a suspected chemical attack on rebel-held Idlib, in which more than 70 people were killed.

He later said: “Today I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.”

The strikes were, he said, in the national security interests of the US.

Trump’s order to launch the missiles came a day after he accused his Syrian counterpart of responsibility for a deadly chemical attack Assad’s government denies carrying out.

“No child of God should ever suffer such horror,” Trump said in a statement following the military action.

EU-Digest: We have not always been very optimistic about President Trumps actions, but this one was a good move which not only puts Assad on notice but also the Russians. 

Read more: US forces fire 'some 50' Tomahawk cruise missiles at Syrian base | Euronews

Syria’s first couple fights to salvage image

President Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asmaa were shown on Syrian state TV packing food aid, an apparent effort to burnish the image of a first couple derided for ordering luxury goods on the Internet while their country burns.

State television broadcast pictures on Wednesday of the Assads receiving a rapturous welcome at al-Fahya stadium in Damascus.

They joined hundreds of volunteers boxing cartons full of flour, sugar, cooking oil and pasta for victims of fighting in Homs, where the president's forces are crushing an uprising.

The Assads have long worked to manage their image, but it backfired a year ago when a glamoros photo shoot and gushing profile of Asmaa, 36, appeared in Vogue magazine just as her husband launched a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

For more: Syria’s first couple fights to salvage image

Turkey seek world action as Syria’s Homs bleeds

Syria’s army pounded the rebel city of Homs on Wednesday as Turkey sought international action to protect civilians from former ally President Bashar al-Assad, a move that risks the wrath of Russia and China.

Dozens more were killed during the day, according to the opposition, drawing comparison with the plight of Benghazi which triggered Western attacks on Libya last year and accelerating a global diplomatic showdown whose outcome is far from clear.

“I’ve seen whole families killed this week,” an activist called Ahmed told Reuters from Homs, the scene of one of the bloodiest government onslaughts in the 11-month-old revolt against Assad. “Now I feel like I’m just waiting to be the next to die,” added the accountant aged 28.

For more: Turkey seek world action as Syria’s Homs bleeds | Firstpost

Russia's Lavrov seeks peace in Syria as forces bombard Homs - by Khaled Yacoub Oweis

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, representing a rare ally on a trip to the Syrian capital other states are shunning, said Russia now wanted to resolve Syria's crisis in line with an Arab plan Moscow and Beijing vetoed in the U.N. Security Council.


The Russian mediation failed to slow a rush by countries that denounced the Russian-Chinese veto three days ago to corner Syria diplomatically and cripple Assad with sanctions in hopes of toppling him and encouraging reforms to avert chaos in a region straddling major fault lines of Middle East conflict.


Opposition activists said government forces renewed shelling of the central city of Homs on Tuesday just before Lavrov's arrival, killing some 19 people in an onslaught that they say has claimed over 300 lives in the last five days.

Syrian state television showed hundreds of people gathering on a main Damascus highway to welcome Lavrov. They were waving Syrian, Russian and Hezbollah flags and held up two Russian flags made out of hundreds of red, white and blue balloons.


.Russia's Lavrov seeks peace in Syria as forces bombard Homs | Reuters