People in Damascus stocked up on supplies yesterday and some left homes close to potential targets as US officials described plans for multi-national strikes on Syria that could last for days.
United Nations chemical weapons experts completed a second field trip to rebel-held suburbs, looking for evidence of what – and who – caused an apparent poison gas attack that residents say killed hundreds of people a week ago.
But as UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for unity among world powers and sought more time for the inspectors to complete their work, Washington and its European and Middle East allies said their minds were made up and that President Bashar al-Assad must face retribution for using banned weapons against his people.
Assad must face retribution for using banned weapons
Syria’s government, supported notably by its main arms supplier Russia, cried foul. It blamed rebel “terrorists” for releasing the toxins with the help of the US, Britain and France and warned it would be a “graveyard of invaders”.
Syrian officials say the West is playing into the hands of its al-Qaeda enemies. The presence of Islamist militants among the rebels has deterred Western powers from arming Assad’s foes – but they say they must now act to stop the use of poison gas.
The US and its allies say a UN veto will not stop them. Western diplomats called the proposed resolution a manoeuvre to isolate Moscow and rally a coalition behind air strikes. Arab states, Nato and Turkey also condemned Assad.
Washington has repeatedly said that President Barack Obama has not yet made up his mind on what action he will order.
A senior US official said strikes could last several days and would involve other armed forces: “We’re talking to a number of different allies regarding participation in a possible kinetic strike,” the administration official said yesterday.
Western armies are expected to wait until the UN experts withdraw. Their initial 14-day mandate expires in four days, and Secretary-General Ban said they need four days work.
A second US official said objectives were still being defined but that the targets could be chosen to prevent Assad from using chemical weapons in future. Washington was confident it could handle Syrian defences and any possible reprisals by its allies, including Iran and Lebanese militia Hizbollah.
Neighbouring Turkey, a Nato member, put its forces on alert.
People in Damascus, wearied by a civil war that has left the Syrian capital ringed by rebel-held suburbs, braced themselves for air strikes.
In a city where dozens of military sites are mixed in among civilian neighbourhoods, some were leaving home in the hope of finding somewhere safer, though many doubted it was worth it: “Every street, every neighbourhood has some government target,” said a nurse in the city centre. “Where do we hide?”
At grocery stores, shoppers loaded up on bread, dry goods and cans. Bottled water and batteries were also in demand.
Numerous factors, including weather and assessments of Syrian air defences, may affect the timing of strikes.
‘Syria can’t hide behind Russia’
Russian opposition to UN Security Council action on the Syria conflict should not be allowed to shield the Syrian government, the US State Department said late yesterday as Britain’s push for council action met Moscow’s resistance.
“We do not believe the Syrian regime should be able to hide behind the fact that the Russians continue to block action on Syria at the UN and we will make our decision on appropriate action going forward,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Harf said actions by Russia, Syria’s main arms supplier, included vetoes of three previous resolutions condemning the government of Bashar al-Assad in the two-year-old conflict.