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UN: Syria action must abide by international law

April 7, 2017 at 5:03 pm

Chemical gas attack survivors at the Turkish border on 7 April 2017 [ Abdüssamed Dagül/Anadolu]

Immediate action is needed to protect the Syrian people but it should be “rooted in the principles of the United Nations and international law,” UN political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman said today.

“There can be no genuine protection if the parties to the conflict, government and opposition alike, are permitted to act with impunity and if the Syrian government continues to commit human rights violations against its own citizens,” he told the UN Security Council.

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US cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base were one step away from clashing with the Russian military, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged today, underscoring the risks in US President Donald Trump’s first major foray into the Syrian civil war.