An attack on the last remaining foothold for the Syrian opposition in the eastern suburbs of Damascus, which appeared to involve poison gas, killed at least 40 people, including families found in their homes and shelters, opposition activists and local rescuers said Sunday.
Missiles struck an air base in central Syria early today, the country's state-run news agency reported. Although the agency said it was likely "an American aggression," U.S. officials said the U.S. had not launched airstrikes on Syria. Israel has also struck inside Syria in recent years.
The Pentagon said it wasn't conducting airstrikes, with a spokesman saying that "we continue to closely watch the situation."
The Syrian Arab News Agency reported that the military shot down eight missiles, and that the attack on the T4 military air base in Homs province resulted in a number of casualties.
In reference to a warning by President Emmanuel Macron last month that France would strike unilaterally if Syria used chemical weapons again, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday that the nation would assume its responsibilities. President Donald Trump and Macron spoke Sunday by phone and "agreed to exchange information on the nature of the attacks and coordinate a strong, joint response," the White House said in a statement.
The attack on the besieged town of Douma came almost exactly a year after a chemical attack in the northern Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun killed dozens of people. That attack prompted the United States to launch several dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian air base.
Earlier, Trump had blamed Syrian government forces for what he called a "mindless CHEMICAL attack" and warned there would be a "big price to pay." He did not elaborate. In a series of tweets, Trump held Russia and Iran, Syrian President Bashar Assad's chief sponsors, responsible.
First responders entering apartments in Douma late Saturday said they found bodies collapsed on floors, some foaming at the mouth. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense rescue organization said the victims appeared to have suffocated.
They did not identify the substance used, but the civil defense organization, also known as the White Helmets, and the Syrian American Medical Society, a medical relief organization, said survivors treated at clinics smelled strongly of chlorine.
Those reports could not be independently verified because of a government blockade around the town. The U.S. government said it was working to verify that chemical weapons had been used.
As grisly images emerged of children's bodies in basements and bloodied survivors at hospitals in eastern Ghouta, Trump made a rare direct criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a series of tweets, Trump said Putin shared the blame for a "mindless CHEMICAL attack" through Russia's support of Assad.
The Syrian government denied the allegations, calling them fabrications. Iran deemed the alleged attack a "conspiracy." Russia's Foreign Ministry released a statement alleging information on the reported attack is a tactic being used to cover up for terrorists.
Trump was to meet with his senior military leadership today, the same day his new national security adviser, John Bolton, assumes his post. Bolton has previously advocated significant airstrikes against Syria.
Trump's sentiments were shared around the world. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the attack an example of the Assad government's brutality. The European Union issued a statement appealing to Assad's allies Russia and Iran to "use their influence to prevent any further attack and ensure the cessation of hostilities and de-escalation of violence." Turkey, which has been cooperating with Assad allies in talks for a political solution, called for international action to prevent what it called war crimes and crimes against humanity.
France called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council today to discuss the attack, and eight other nations joined in the request, including the United States and Britain. "The Security Council has to come together and demand immediate access for first responders, support an independent investigation into what happened and hold accountable those responsible for this atrocious act," Nikki Haley, Trump's ambassador to the U.N., said in a statement.
CALLS FOR ACTION
The developments come as Trump has declared his intent to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria in the coming months despite resistance from many of his advisers.
Several prominent Republicans urged the president to act -- and to reconsider his plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., recovering from brain cancer at home, tweeted that Trump's words may have set the stage for another chemical attack.
"POTUS's pledge to withdraw from #Syria has only emboldened Assad, backed by Russia & Iran, to commit more war crimes in #Douma," he tweeted.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., tweeted that responsible nations cannot tolerate chemical attacks. "The U.S. must continue to lead an international effort to hold the Assad regime and Russia accountable for their actions."
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the alleged attack "absolutely horrific" and said Sunday that U.S. officials should think about taking military action in response.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that it is "no accident" that the Syrian regime seems to be once again using chemical weapons.
"They see us and our resolve breaking. They see our determination to stay in Syria waning ... but President Trump can reset the table here," Graham said Sunday morning on This Week. "If he doesn't follow through and live up to that tweet, he's going to look weak in the eyes of Russia and Iran. So this is the defining moment, Mr. President. You need to follow through with that tweet; show a resolve that Obama never did to get this right."
Trump also blamed President Barack Obama's administration for not ousting the Assad government.
"If President Obama had crossed his stated Red Line In The Sand, the Syrian disaster would have ended long ago! Animal Assad would have been history!" he tweeted.
Obama struggled with how to respond to such attacks in Syria. After declaring the use of chemical weapons a "red line," he declined to respond militarily when a chemical attack by the Syrian government in 2013 killed more than 1,400 people near Damascus, according to a U.S. assessment.
Instead, the United States and Russia reached an agreement to have Syria surrender its chemical weapons stockpiles and dismantle its capabilities to make new ones.
REBELS SURRENDER
The attack occurred near the end of a monthslong push by the Syrian government to retake the group of towns east of Damascus. They have been held by rebels seeking to topple Assad since the early years of the Syrian civil war, and the rebels have often shelled Damascus, killing civilians.
The Syrian government and its allies -- the Russian military and militias backed by Iran -- have surrounded and bombarded the area, killing more than 1,600 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict from Britain through contacts in Syria.
Hours after the attack, the Army of Islam rebel group agreed to surrender Douma and evacuate their fighters to rebel-held northern Syria, Syrian state media reported. The group also agreed to give up its prisoners, a key demand of the government.
The government agreed to halt its assault after three days of indiscriminate air and ground attacks.
"There's nothing left for civilians and fighters. We don't have anything to stand fast," said Haitham Bakkar, an opposition activist inside the town. He spoke to The Associated Press by WhatsApp.
"People now are going out in the streets looking for their loved ones in the rubble," Bakkar said. "And we don't have any space left to bury them."
More than 100 buses entered the town Sunday night to transport fighters and their families to Jarablus, a town under the shared control of rebels and Turkey, said Syrian state-affiliated al-Ikhbariya TV.
The preparations follow a pattern of evacuations around the capital and other major Syrian cities as the government reasserts its control after seven years of war.
Bakkar said several bombs laced with chemicals landed in Douma on Saturday night. Another activist, Bilal Abou Salah, said a large, yellow cylinder smashed through the roof of an apartment building, came to rest on the third floor and started to discharge gas.
The Syrian Civil Defense group documented 42 fatalities but was impeded from searching further by strong odors that gave rescuers difficulties breathing, said Siraj Mahmoud, a spokesman for the group.
A joint statement by the civil defense group and the medical society said that more than 500 people, mostly women and children, were taken to medical centers complaining of difficulty breathing, foaming at the mouth and burning sensations in the eyes. Some had bluish skin, a sign of oxygen deprivation.
The symptoms were consistent with chemical exposure. One patient, a woman, had convulsions and pinpoint pupils, suggesting exposure to a nerve agent, the statement said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights issued a higher death toll, saying at least 80 people were killed in Douma, including around 40 who died from suffocation. But it said the suffocations were the result of shelters collapsing on people inside them.
Information for this article was contributed by Philip Issa, James Heintz, Zeina Karam and Jonathan Lemire of The Associated Press; by Carol Morello, Jenna Johnson, Amie Ferris-Rotman, Louisa Loveluck and Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post; by Ben Hubbard of The New York Times; by Zaid Sabah of Bloomberg News; and by Nabih Bulos, Alexandra Zavis and Laura King of the Los Angeles Times.
A Section on 04/09/2018