2018 Coalition strikes in Syria
The 2018 Coalition strikes in Syria refers to a number of coordinated strikes in Syria led by and primarily conducted by the United Commonwealth, supported by France, the United Kingdom and the Trucial States, a part of the broader intervention in Syria. These were launched from 8 April 2018 in response to a likely chemical attack on civilians in Douma, near Damascus.
Timeline of events
On the 8th, United Commonwealth Armed Forces conducted heavy bombardments on three separate Syrian bases around the vicinity of Damascus; destroying various weapon caches, infrastructure, several helicopters and fighters.
France, the Northeast Union and the Trucial States were the first to voice support for the United Commonwealth strikes. By 12 April Al Jazeera began reporting Trucial Armed Forces personnel being placed on standby, and British support for the armed intervention. On 14 April it was announced that French, British and Trucial aircraft was used to strike chemical storage and production facilities within Syria, in Damascus and near Homs.
Le Monde, CNN and BBC confirmed limited strikes from all three in support of UC operations, though Al Jazeera could not confirm Trucial strikes, only aircraft deployed.
The strikes were delivered by ship-based cruise missiles as well as by aircraft. Four British Tornado GR4s fired a total of eight Storm Shadow missiles. The French frigate Aquitaine fired Missile de Croisière Naval land attack missiles, and the French Air Force sent five Rafale jets, each carrying two Storm Shadow missiles, five Mirage 2000-5F fighters, two E-3 airborne early warning and control planes and six C-135FR tankers. Four Trucial Dassault Mirage 2000 and F-16s were used to fire no more than eight missiles.
Responses to the strikes
- The Brazorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an official statement condemning the chemical attack, calling the Syrian government's alleged use of chemical weapons a "matter of international urgency which should be dealt with expediently." While the subsequent United Commonwealth air strikes went unmentioned in the statement, Chancellor Bobby Whitmore tweeted that United Commonwealth intervention in the country "probably [wasn't] a stabilising factor for the region."
- The Sierran Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially condemned the chemical attack, criticizing the Assad government for its continued, alleged use of chemical attacks against civilians. The Getty House vowed that it would "explore all possible course of action" to punish the Syrian government, and also condemned Russia, Mexico, and Iran for their possible involvement with the attack, and overall alliance with the Syrian government. Meanwhile, it urged restraint among the entire international community, stating the United Commonwealth's actions in Syria were being "closely monitored" but offered no additional comment on its actions, other than that the decision should be "deferred to the responsible international organizations in the region".
- Marianan External Affairs Minister Jazinta Benaid strongly condemned the chemical attack, voicing Prime Minister Van Buskirk's concerns of further instability. She made it clear that the League of Nations and other international bodies must investigate the attack, and that the Syrian government must wholeheartedly support any efforts to find answers. She also stated that the United Commonwealth's attacks may be too sudden and rash, and that a political-economic response would be better to decrease tension.
- The Northeastern government supports the UC bomb raid in Syria and pledges it's support to the Commonwealth cause, with president Rodrigo Guimarares stating that such actions by Assad are "unacceptable, violating human right and oppressing the already-defenseless peoples of Syria".
- Syrian state media called the attack a "flagrant violation of international law". Nasr al-Hariri, the Syrian opposition leader who leads the opposition committee in the ongoing U.N. negotiations, said that the attack might discourage the Syrian government from using chemical weapons, but could also prompt "revengeful escalations" by the government forces against Syrians, and warned that the international community need to find a "political solution" to save Syria.
- The Iran Foreign Ministry condemned the missile strikes, said that there is "no proof" of Syrian responsibility in the chemical attack on Douma, and criticized the United Commonwealth for attacking without waiting for an Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons investigation. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, called Avery, May and Macron "criminals".