which are at odds with the public will and it's in terms of the way we see events unfolding very briefly how do you see. major capitals in london paris washington reacting now it's just waking up possibly to how they how they could be perceived in the next twelve hours while theresa may i guess is giving a speech very soon and i think this was coordinated mccraw interview some may so on that front what we're seeing in a sense is something if you want to look at this where the war back then when france and britain and israel were allied on one side against an arab state today we have america not taking the position against these states but allying with them israel friends britain america all are together on the same page on this it is far could speak to you and for your analysis on the scenario so far going on in syria of course will come back to you through the day things developed thank you. it's over eight hundred g.m.t. eleven o'clock in the morning in damascus you're watching al-jazeera has extended

coverage of the u.s. led military action against bashar al assad it's the biggest intervention yet by western powers against syria's government since the war began more than seven years ago now the u.s. britain and france have hit regime targets with a barrage of airstrikes from ships and fighter jets in response to the suspected poison gas attack last week now u.s. president donald trump announced the operation and explosions were heard in syria's capital damascus the government's key allies have responded with anger russia has warned that there will be consequences iran says it's a clear violation of international laws as dawn broke in damascus regime supporters gathered to cheer for president bashar al assad syrian officials have described the military action as brutal american british french aggression. all of the strikes are aimed at degrading syria's chemical weapons capabilities the first

target was a scientific research center in the greater damascus area the pentagon says it was used for the production and testing of chemical or biological warfare technology two more sites were targeted west of homs both work chemical weapons storage facilities according to the pentagon one of them was also a military command center now we're tracking reaction from around the world with our correspondents in washington d.c. moscow beirut london and paris we'll be live to all of them after alan fischer wraps up everything we know so far. a response had been promised predicted and no delivered so americans a short time ago i ordered the united states armed forces to launch precision strikes certain targets associated. with the chemical weapons capabilities of syrian dictator bashar al assad donald trump has argued be us how to take action to

protect its national interest at the stop the assad regime use of chemical weapons the purpose of our actions tonight is to establish a strong deterrent against the production spread and use of chemical weapons establishing this deterrent is a vital national security interest of the united states and heed this message for president assad's russian an iranian alights what kind of a nation wants to be associated with the mass murder of innocent men women and children the nations of the world can be judged by the friends they keep no nation can succeed in the long run by promoting rogue states brutal tyrants and murderous dictators. it's just over a year since the signing gas attack in syria provoked an american military response

this was a joint operation the french and the british joining the americans tonight france the united kingdom and the united states took decisive action to strake the syrian chemical weapons infrastructure. clearly the assad regime did not get the message last year u.s. defense secretary says he was convinced of syrian involvement in the suspected chemical attack just hours before the operation was given the go ahead but i am confident the sherry in regime conducted a chemical attack on innocent people. in this last last week yes absolutely confident of it and we have the intelligence level of confidence that we needed to conduct the attack. but as donald trump addressed the country there were some questioning if you believe all power to launch the attack here in the united states our constitution says without any equivocation it's up to congress not the

president not the executive branch to declare a war to say when we're going to go to war the president then executes that decision the russians had warned of consequences if the u.s. launched this attack because of its close ties to the syrian government the airstrikes may be over this new middle east crisis isn't alan fischer al-jazeera washington. here's more on the syrian government's response its state media says it's an aggression against syria and the result of the west's failure of an anti syria project it says the strikes are aimed at obstructing investigations of the international fact finding team currently in duma now where the suspected chemical attack took place last weekend syria has called on the international community to condemn the aggression saying it's meant to fuel tension and threaten international peace and security in. all what. we stress that this kind of aggression will not stop our army our alliance will

continue targeting terrorist groups across the country this will strengthen us and we will continue to defend our sovereignty and our homeland and people's security. let's take you over to the british capital that is downing street the home of the british prime minister the press center there within downing street we are expecting to resume a to speak and when she does we will go to that press conference as soon as it happens we're also waiting for the russian president vladimir putin to speak well earlier the russian ambassador to washington warn that there will be consequences after the u.s. led strikes on syria bacilli the venza said in a statement a predesigned scenario is being implemented again we are being threatened we warn that such actions will not be left without consequences all responsibility for them rests with washington london and paris first joined rory chalons our correspondent in moscow the russians obviously very angry harsh words talking about retaliation

rory what can we expect from president putin. well putin has actually put a statement up on the kremlin website already so i suspect that we won't hear any kind of televised announcement from him it will be left this perhaps i'll be proven wrong but let's see once again he says as a year ago when the united states attacks the shi'ites airbase in syria the use of toxic substances against the civilian population was staged as an excuse that's the line we've been hearing a lot from the russians recently that this was essentially a manufactured provocation. the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons has sent experts to syria to investigate all of the circumstances but the group of western countries cynically neglected this taking military action without waiting for the results of an investigation says putin by their actions the united

states further exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe in syria bring suffering to the civilian population and the current escalation in the situation around syria is having a devastating impact on the entire system of international relations according to police and the kremlin so what are they going to do about it well that's of course something that i think putin is going to be weighing up at the moment the only concrete steps that we are hearing so far and this is coming from the kremlin coming from prison himself is the russia's convening an emergency meeting of the united nations security council to discuss what it calls the aggressive actions of the united states and its allies if it is just another u.n. security council meeting well that will probably get what we've had in un s.c. meetings for the last months and years which is basically a shouting match on the floor of the u.s. the with the u.s. and its allies lining up and russia on the other side with a little bit of cover from china whether we go we have gone koreans very sorry to go straight over to london where we british prime minister tree's amazing he's now

let's hear what he has to say and targeted strikes to degrade the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deter their use. for the u.k.'s part for tornado g.r. falls ne storm shadow missiles at a military facility some fifteen miles west of homs where the regime is assessed to keep chemical weapons in breach of syria's obligations under the chemical weapons convention while a full assessment of the strike is ongoing we are confident of its success let me set out why we have taken this action last saturday up to seventy five people including young children were killed in a despicable and barbaric attack in duma with as many as five hundred further casualties we have worked with our allies to establish what happened and all the

indications are that this was a chemical weapons attack we have seen the harrowing images of men women and children lying dead with foam in their mouths these were innocent families who were at the time this chemical weapon was unleashed were seeking shelter underground in basements. firsthand accounts from n.g.o.s and aid workers have detailed the most horrific suffering including burns to the eyes suffocation and skin discoloration with a chlorine like odor surrounding the victims and the world health organization has received reports that hundreds of patients arrived at syrian health facilities on saturday night with signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals we are also clear about who was responsible for this atrocity

a significant body of information including intelligence indicates the syrian regime is responsible for this latest attack i cannot tell you everything but let me give an example of some of the evidence that leads us to this conclusion. open source accounts allege that a barrel bomb was used to deliver the chemicals multiple open source reports claim that a regime helicopter was observed above the city of duma on the evening of the seventh of april the opposition does not operate helicopters or use barrel bombs and reliable intelligence indicates that syrian military officials coordinated what appears to be the use of chlorine in duma on the seventh of april no other group could have carried out this attack indeed die as for example does not even have a presence in duma and the fact of this attack should surprise no one

we know that the syrian regime has an utterly a bar and record of using chemical weapons against its own people on the twenty first of august two thousand and thirteen over eight hundred people were killed and thousands more injured in a chemical attack also in ghouta there were fourteen further smaller scale chemicals attack prior to that summer a can shake on the fourth of april last year the syrian regime used sarin against its people killing around one hundred with a further five hundred casualties and based on the regime's persistent pattern of behavior and the cumulative analysis of specific incidents we judge it highly likely both that the syrian regime has continued to use chemical weapons since then and will continue to do so this must be stopped we have sought to do so using every possible diplomatic channel but our efforts have been repeatedly thwarted both on

the ground and in the united nations. following the sarin attack in eastern damascus back in august two thousand and thirteen the syrian regime committed to dismantle its chemical weapons program and russia promised to ensure that syria did this overseen by the organization for the prosecution of chemical weapons but these commitments have not been met a recent report from the organization for the program bishan of chemical weapons has said that syria's declaration of its former chemical weapons program is incomplete this indicates that it continues to retain undeclared stocks of nerve agent or precursor of chemicals and is likely to be continuing with some chemical weapons production the o.p.c. w. inspectors had investigated previous attacks and on four occasions decided that the regime was indeed responsible and on each occasion when we have seen every sign of

chemical weapons being used any attempt to hold the perpetrators to account has been blocked by russia at the u.n. security council with six such vetoes since the start of two thousand and seventeen just this week the russians vetoed a draft resolution that would have established an independent investigation into this latest attack even making the grotesque and absurd claim that it was staged by britain so we have no choice but to conclude that diplomatic action on its own will not be any more effective in the future than it has been in the past over the last week the u.k. government has been working intensively with our international partners to build the evidence picture and to consider what action we need to take to prevent and deter future humanitarian catastrophes caused by chemical weapons attacks. when the cabinet met on thursday we considered the advice of the attorney general the

national security adviser and the chief of the defense staff and we were updated on the latest assessment and intelligence picture and based on this advice we agree that it was both right and legal to take military action together with our closest allies to alleviate further humanitarian suffering by degrading the syrian regime's chemical weapons capability and deterring their use this was not about interfering in a civil war and it was not about regime change as i discussed with president trump and president background it was a limited targeted and effective strike with clear boundaries that expressly sought to avoid escalation and did everything possible to prevent civilian casualties together we have hit a specified specific and limited set of targets they were chemical weapons storage and production facility a key chemical weapons research center and

a military bunker involved in chemical weapons attacks hitting these targets with the force that we have to ploy will significantly degrade the syrian regime's ability to research develop and deploy chemical weapons a year ago after the atrocity it can shake the u.s. conducted a strike on the airfield from which the attack took place but assad and his regime hasn't stopped their use of chemical weapons so last night strikes by the u.s. u.k. and france were significantly larger than the u.s. action a year ago and specifically designed to have a greater impact on the regime's capability and willingness to use chemical weapons and this collective action sends a clear message that the international community will not stand by and tolerate the use of chemical weapons. i also want to be clear that this military action to deter

the use of chemical weapons does not stand alone we must remain committed to resolving the conflict flicked at large the best hope for the syrian people remains a political solution we need all partners especially the regime and its backers to enable humanitarian access to those in desperate need and the u.k. will continue to strive for both but these strikes are about deterring the barbaric use of chemical weapons in syria and beyond and so to achieve this must also be a wider diplomatic effort including the full range of political and economic leavers to strengthen the global norms put prohibiting the use of chemical weapons which have stood for nearly a century although of a much lower order of magnitude the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the u.k. in recent weeks is part of a pattern of disregard for these norms so while this action is specifically about

deterring the syrian regime it will also send a clear signal to anyone else who believes they can use chemical weapons with impunity there is no graver decision for a prime minister than to commit our forces to combat and this is the first time that i have had to do so as always they have served our country with the greatest professionalism and bravery and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude we would have preferred an alternative path but on this occasion there is none we cannot allow the use of chemical weapons to become normalized either within syria on the streets of the u.k. or elsewhere we must reinstate the global consensus that chemical weapons cannot be used this action is absolutely in britain's national interest. the lesson of history is where that when the global rules and standards that keep us safe come

under threat we must take a stand and defend them that is what our country has always done and that is what we will continue to do. take a number of questions. start with laura. and thank you premise there laura conspired to b.b.c. news. your logic is that chemical attacks must not go unpunished will you do the same again if president assad does the same again as you have suggested he has and do you feel you have the public's consent given that you have not even consulted m.p.'s in parliament as i said in my statement the purpose of the action that took place last night was to degrade and deter the

capability and willingness of the syrian regime to use chemical weapons as i also said obviously a full assessment has not yet been completed but we believe that the action was successful but the syrian regime should be under no doubt of our resolve in relation to this matter of the use of chemical weapons and i have taken this decision because i believe it is the right thing to do i believe it is in our national interest but i believe it is also important for the international community to be very clear about this issue that we have seen people appearing to think that they can use chemical weapons with impunity and we must restore the position of that as i said has existed for nearly a century the use of chemical weapons is illegal it is banned and we cannot accept it. tim.

thank you prime minister attention from the sunday times you were hinting towards the end of your statement about possible further. action against supporters of the regime can you explain why you haven't yet taken action against russian money in london in the same way that the united states has another link to point we appear to be in a propaganda war with the russians why have no ministers been out explaining what you've been exposing today throughout a week in which the russian ambassador has been accusing britain of culpability for the crimes that you've addressed as. well on the first point as you well know tim and as i said in response to the use of the nerve agent on the streets of salzburg we are of course looking at every aspect of the action that can be taken we do in general work against illicit finances against criminal finances here in the u.k. and we will continue we will continue to do so you say that no minister has been

out over the past week i've given two television interviews over the past week in which i've set out the need for action and the need for us to restore the international norm of the recognition that chemical weapons should not be used what i said in those interviews was that we were working with our international partners and allies to ascertain make the fullest possible assessment of what happened on the ground and then to ascertain what action was necessary we've done that and the action that we saw last night into the early hours of this morning was the result of that work adam. promise i wonder if you could explain a little more your decision and your thinking on not seeking prior approval or debate from parliament on this decision because as you know jeremy corbin and on the other side kenneth clarke have both said that they feel that that should have taken place and there seems to be a feeling abroad that tony blair set

a precedent back in two thousand and three but as i said others as i've just said i believe that this action is there so i believe it was the right thing for us to do we have been working with our allies and partners over the past week first to make the fullest possible assessment of what happened on the ground and then to consider what action was necessary and to do that in a timely fashion so that we could act with sufficient understanding of what happened on the ground and proper planning of any action but to do so within a time scale that gave a very clear message to the regime and it was also important and i believe it is important as we are sending it is one of the that the grave is thing that decision that a prime minister can take is to send our service personnel into action into combat and when we do that we owe it to them that we as far as possible protect their

safety and their security and for operational security reasons it was right that we've acted in the way that we did it properly planned this assess what happened on the ground properly plan it act within a time scale that's right to both protect operational security and give a very clear message to regime robert. you explicitly linked. the overnight action to the poisonings in salzburg. was the overnight action just about assad or was it explicitly a warning to russia as well the secretary general is warning that the cold war is back and he is fearful we don't have the institutional structures to contain it . how do we restore a sense of calm and security well first of all i refer to the salzburg what

happened in salzburg because it was the use of a chemical weapon a nerve agent on the streets of the united kingdom the action that took place last night was an action which was focused on degrading and deterring the operational capability and the willingness of the syrian regime to continue to use chemical weapons as i said there have been many instances when we have seen them using those chemical weapons but i believe it should also be a message to others that the international community is not going to stand by and allow chemical weapons to be used with impunity we have for nearly a century now had a general understanding under the the chemical weapons convention that chemical weapons were illegal that their use was banned we have in recent times all too often seen chemical weapons being used i think it's right that the international community has come together and said that we will not accept this and given a very clear message about that we want to reestablish that into in the national

norm that chemical weapons are banned and should not be used yes i believe have you found. if chemical weapons are indeed used again in syria. will the united kingdom take part in more targeted strikes and since if it's in the coming weeks parliament will no longer be in recess will you feel a bigger pressure to actually ask for that green light and how important is it to you that president michael is alongside very much participating in this operation how would you characterize the franco british on thought about this operation. well first of all on the parliamentary front and i should have sort of made reference to this in answer to the previous questions i will be in

parliament on monday to make a statement to parliament and obviously to give parliamentarians the opportunity to question me about this i believe it was right to take the action that we have done in the timing that we have done as i've indicated in relation to assessment planning and operational security but the it was to send a very clear message about the use of these chemical weapons i believe that the action that's taken will have significantly degraded the capability of the syrian regime to use chemical weapons we want to deter their willingness to use chemical weapons and as well but they should be in no doubt of our resolve and i believe that is an international resolve on these issues to ensure that we do. return to the situation where it is accepted that the use of chemical weapons is illegal is banned they should not be used i think obviously this has been a tripartite operation with the united states with france and the united kingdom

you asked specifically about the franco british relationship i think we have a very good and close relationship on security and defense matters that was enhanced in the in the summit that we think of which is summit we had earlier this year we have been over recent years working increasingly closely together on these defense matters. why i as i said in relation to this i will be going to parliament and will be taking making a statement in in parliament on the wider issue i did address the wider issue of this is was a limited and targeted strike that took place last night all series of strikes that took place last night by the three partners but nobody should be any in any doubt

of our resolve on this issue which is to ensure that we see a return to that international norm on the prohibition of the use of chemical weapons so yes the gentleman. thank you joe wants to be independent the syrian civil war has seen a huge displacements of people from the middle east towards the west i'm just wondering if you think that your action today and the threat of further action from the west will exacerbate that and cause more people more refugees to come to the west and if you can tell us what extra planning extra actions you're going to be taking to address that point ease the pressure on nations and help the refugees themselves. well you're right to say that of course as a result of what has been taking place in syria over the last few years seven years or also we have seen a large number of people displaced within syria and obviously a large number of refugees from syria being displaced both to countries in the region and further afield and of course we have been receiving

a number of syrian refugees here in the u.k. ourselves but our focus has always been on support for refugees in the region with considerable report support to countries that have been providing refuge for them obviously lebanon jordan and turkey are the three countries that have particularly been providing a refuge for them the purpose of this action is to prevent further humanitarian suffering i think nobody can have been anything but a poor old at the scenes that we saw and we've read about from the attack that took place in duma and it is right i believe that the international community has acted to give that very clear message about this use of chemical weapons. that from the guardian and prime minister are you concerned that you perhaps do not have the support of british people for this action polling has shown that it's around a fifth of people who support further action in syria and what's your message to

people who are uneasy about the actually taken. well my my as i said i have taken this decision because i believe it is the right thing to do i think my message to people about this is is that this is about the use of chemical weapons we have for nearly one hundred years now had a generally accepted position in the international community that because chemical weapons are illegal their use is illegal they're banned that has generally been accepted we have seen that international norm being eroded it's been eroded a number of ways as i say we've seen a nerve agent used on the streets of the city here in the united kingdom but we have seen the syrian regime continuing to use chemical weapons despite the fact that after august twenty thirty when they said they were dismantling their chemical weapons and russia guaranteed that that was taking place. that commitment has not

been met and so i think it is important that for the alleviation of humanitarian suffering in syria but also if we stand back and look at this more widely i think it is in all our interests that we restore that international norm on the prosecution of the use of chemical weapons. on sunday how much should you agonize about this decision to keep you awake at night. this as i said in my statement and i've repeated sense that there is no graver decision that a prime minister can take than to send troops send service personnel into combat. and it is a decision that i have not taken lightly as you know there's been a number of discussions here with the national security council and a cabinet together with discussions with our american and french allies on this but

at the end of the day i felt it was the right thing to do besides it because we have seen this growing use of chemical weapons and i think that we must say this must stop and it is in all our interests for us to ensure that the use of chemical weapons stops and it's in the interest of all our futures to ensure that the use of chemical weapons stops. here on the front sorry j. making. toby home from the observer obviously there's been no parliamentary approval for this act for reasons of timing apart from anything else but when parliament resumes next week do you intend to try to get parliament as a whole to back your strategy which clearly you are opening the door to possible further action from what you say do you intend to push for a vote and to get on behind you as i say your geologist or the british prime minister trees i'm a.