US and others react to chemical attack in northern Syria: "A terrible crime"

In an initial response to the chemical attack in northern Syria that killed more than 100 people, the White House spokesman condemned the attacks.

Sean Spicer called the chemical attack in Idlib a "reprehensible act" that the civilized world cannot ignore at a White House press conference on Tuesday, April 5.

He confirmed that President Trump had been informed of the incident.

The White House spokesman also described Bashar al-Assad's actions in Syria as a situation resulting from the "weakness and hesitation" of the Barack Obama administration in dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Mr. Spicer said President Obama had said a chemical attack in Syria was our "red line," but did nothing when it happened.

Mr. Spicer is referring to the former US President's stance on the Syrian crisis.

This is the White House spokesman's response to Tuesday's chemical attack in northwest Syria.

Opposition: It's Assad or Russia's fault

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday that Russian or Syrian government forces carried out a chemical attack in northwest Syria that killed at least 100 people, including 11 children, and that about 400 people were suffering from respiratory problems.

Assad's opponents have claimed that Sukhoi jets carried out the attack.

While Assad's opponents accuse the government of involvement in the chemical attack, a military official in Assad's army strongly denied this accusation in an interview with Reuters.

The Assad government has been accused of using chemical weapons several times. Last year, the United Nations reported that Syrian forces had used chlorine gas at least three times in attacks on the opposition.

A few days ago, Assad's opponents announced that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in an attack on the city of Hama.

Last August, a Syrian aid group operating in rebel-held territory said a helicopter had likely dropped barrels of toxic gas on a town in the area. Russia later denied any role in the attack.

Last November, the Russian military claimed that their personnel had found evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrians opposed to the Assad government.

According to the Associated Press, Major General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, said on Friday, November 11, that the country's Defense Ministry experts had found unexploded ordnance in the southwestern suburbs of Aleppo that contained chlorine gas and white phosphorus.

However, following international investigations and confirmation of the Syrian government's role in using chlorine gas against civilians in the country, the United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 18 senior officials of Bashar al-Assad's government for their links to Damascus' weapons of mass destruction program.

The reaction of the UN and the Assad regime

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that members of the UN Security Council will discuss the issue tomorrow.

Mr. de Mistura, who was participating in a joint news conference with Federica Mogherini, the European Union's foreign policy chief, said that the perpetrators of this terrible crime must be held accountable.

He also said that the international community still does not have enough information about this attack.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also said at the press conference that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the chemical attack in the country.

The Syrian government denied the accusation on Tuesday night local time, calling the Assad government a "complete lie."

Previously, the Russian Ministry of Defense had also denied any role in the chemical attack in Idlib province.

Source: Voice of America