Air raid on the Asch-Schaʿirat military airfield

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Tomahawk cruise missile launch aboard USS Ross

The air raid on the al-Sha'rat military airfield was carried out on the morning of April 7, 2017 by the United States Armed Forces . Ships of the US Navy fired on while the military airfield ash-Scha'irat in Syria with about 60 Tomahawk - cruise missiles .

prehistory

On April 4, 2017, an air strike during the Syrian Civil War in the city of Khan Shaykhun resulted in a poison gas incident in which more than 70 people were killed and many more injured. Responsibility for the incident is controversial, but many states, including the US , blame the Syrian government. The US authorities are referring to information from the United States Intelligence Community , according to which it was an air attack by the Syrian Air Force with poison gas that originated at asch-Schaʿirat airfield. The UN Security Council did not have any independent evidence of this . Draft resolutions in the Security Council calling for an investigation into Syria failed due to opposition from the UN veto power, Russia . After Russia prevented a Syria resolution for the seventh time since the beginning of the civil war, the US complained about a blockade and threatened its own sanctions.

Course of events

Donald Trump at an attack session at his Mar-a-Lago estate
Tomahawk cruise missiles launch aboard USS Porter (video)

In direct response and retaliation for the chemical attack on Chan Schaichun US President ordered Donald Trump to an air strike on a military airfield ash-Scha'irat that on April 7, 2017 in the eastern Mediterranean operating destroyer USS Porter and USS Ross was executed. The warships shot down around 60 cruise missiles of the Tomahawk type, one of which fell into the sea immediately after take-off.

According to the US, the attack was aimed at aircraft, bunkered aircraft shelters , fuel and other storage facilities, ammunition bunkers, anti-aircraft systems and radar systems. On April 8, the US President said on Twitter that he had deliberately not had the runway bombed because it could be repaired quickly and cheaply. Russian military have been warned of the impending military strike on the air base. This was to prevent Russian soldiers who were in the country as part of the Russian military operation from falling victim to the attack.

effect

According to the Syrian government, at least five Syrian military personnel and nine civilians, including four children, were killed on the base.

There were various reports about the destruction on the base. The United States Central Command announced that the Tomahawk missiles had hit "planes, gasoline, bunkers, ammunition stores, radars and defense systems." US reports indicated that 20 percent of operational Syrian aircraft had been destroyed and that of the 59 missiles, 58 had "severely damaged or destroyed" their target. Israeli analysts came to the same conclusion when evaluating satellite images of the attack. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack was ineffective, with only 23 missiles hitting the base. The runways remained undamaged and air strikes from the military base started again on April 7, 2017.

International reactions

According to US President Trump, the air strike was ordered in an act of defense of national security interests. The president received encouragement from, among other things, official reactions from Saudi Arabia , Jordan and Turkey , which called the attack a “positive response to the war crimes of the Assad regime”. In a joint Franco-German declaration, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President François Hollande assigned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “sole responsibility” because of his repeated actions against his own people.

The Security Council of the Russian Federation , chaired by President Vladimir Putin, viewed the US attack as aggression against a sovereign nation and as a violation of international law . The Russian government suspended the "Memorandum with the USA on the avoidance of incidents during flights during military operations in Syria". In response to the attack, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to strengthen the air defense of the Syrian armed forces . The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, described the airstrike as "ruthless and irresponsible" and stated that it would benefit terrorist organizations. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif drew parallels with the 2003 claim made by then US Secretary of State Colin Powell that Iraq had biological and chemical weapons.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it clear to his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in a phone call that an attack on a country whose government is fighting terrorism would only play into the hands of extremists - which poses an additional security threat in the region as well also mean worldwide. Lavrov also told Tillerson that claims that the Syrian military had used chemical weapons were not true. He and Tillerson agreed to continue the discussion on Syria in person on April 12 in Moscow.

The German journalist and lawyer Stefan Ulrich denied in the Süddeutsche Zeitung the legality of the attack according to international law , since neither the UN Security Council nor an attack on the USA had been approved. The admissibility under US law has also been questioned because Trump did not seek congressional approval .

The pro-Assad alliance, consisting of Russia and Iran, supported Syria's President Assad. She condemned the air strike as aggression against the sovereignty of Syria. To defeat terrorism, we have to work even more closely together.

Reactions in US Domestic Policy

The organization Protect Democracy demanded under the Freedom of Information Act access to government documents that justify the attack. After delays in accessing the files, she sued the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Affairs and Defense on May 8, 2017.

See also

Web links

Commons : Air raid on al-Sha'irat military airfield  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Statement from Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis on US strike in Syria. US Department of Defense, accessed April 7, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond: Trump launches military strike against Syria. CNN, April 6, 2017; archived from the original on April 7, 2017 ; accessed on April 7, 2017 (English).
  3. ↑ Syria was: US launches missile strikes following chemical 'attack'. BBC News , April 7, 2017, archived from the original on April 7, 2017 ; accessed on April 7, 2017 (English).
  4. ↑ US blasts Syria base with 60 cruise missiles. Associated Press, April 7, 2017.
  5. ↑ Thomas Pany: Poison gas attack in Syria: perpetrators are still unknown. In: heise.de. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 9, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Suspected poison gas attack: Syria resolution fails in the UN Security Council. In: Spiegel Online , April 5, 2017, accessed April 6, 2017.
  7. ^ Office of the Press Secretary: Statement by President Trump on Syria. The White House, April 6, 2017, accessed April 8, 2017 .
  8. ^ Trump Orders Missile Attack in Retaliation for Syrian Chemical Strikes. defense.gov, April 7, 2017 (English).
  9. ↑ Barbara Starr, Jeremy Diamond: Trump launches military strike against Syria CNN.com, April 7, 2017, accessed April 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ Syrian villagers near US missile strike know the sound of battle - but never as horrific as this. (English).
  11. ↑ Jamie McIntyre: On Target: US claims 100 percent success as 59 missiles hit 59 targets at Syrian airfield. The Washington Examiner, April 7, 2017, accessed April 8, 2017.
  12. ↑ Donald Trump : The reason you don't generally hit runways is that they are easy and inexpensive to quickly fix (fill in and top)! Twitter , April 8, 2017, accessed April 9, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Trump on the air strike in Syria: "Runways are generally not bombed". Spiegel Online , April 8, 2017, accessed April 9, 2017 .
  14. ↑ a b Russia furious after US missile strike, vows to support Syria's air defense after 'significant blow' to relations , National Post , April 7, 2017 (English).
  15. ↑ Tom Batchelor: Russia says US air strikes in Syria came 'within an inch' of military clash with their forces , The Independent, April 8, 2017.
  16. ↑ Raja Abdulrahim, Noam Rydan: Syria Says Strike Kills 16, Damages Air Base. In: wsj.com. April 7, 2017, accessed April 8, 2017 .
  17. ^ Statement from Pentagon Spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis on US strike in Syria . April 7, 2017.
  18. ↑ Pentagon: 20 percent of Syrian fighter jets destroyed , Die Zeit April 11, 2017
  19. ↑ Laura Smith-Spark and Barbara Starr CNN: US investigates possible Russia role in Syria chemical attack .
  20. ↑ Barbara Starr and Jeremy Diamond CNN: Trump launches military strike against Syria .
  21. ↑ Roger Näbig: Russia's Air Defense & Air Defense Systems in Syria: More Appearance than Reality ? In: officiere.ch. Officers.ch: Security Policy - Armed Forces - Media, July 25, 2019, accessed on July 28, 2019 .
  22. ↑ ABC News: Syrian jets take off from air base hit by US . In: go.com . April 8, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  23. ↑ Russia plans to bolster Syrian air defenses, and derides US over 'extremely low' effectiveness of bombing . April 7, 2017.
  24. ^ Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Nabih Bulos: Syrians report 15 dead in US airstrike . April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  25. ^ Igor Konashenkov: MoD to hold briefing after US strike in Syria - TAPE FEED . RT . April 7, 2017.
  26. ↑ Why didn't the US crater Syria's runways? - The National .
  27. ↑ Syrian warplanes take off once again from air base bombed by US Tomahawks . In: telegraph.co.uk . Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  28. ↑ Madison Park: Who's with the US on Syria strike and who isn't. In: CNN.com on April 9, 2017, accessed April 9, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Assad bears responsibility". In: Tagesschau.de from April 7, 2017, accessed on April 9, 2017.
  30. ^ What is known about the US attack in Syria. In: Spiegel.de , April 6, 2017
  31. ↑ Russia stops agreements with US military in Syria. Die Zeit , April 7, 2017, accessed April 9, 2017 .
  32. ↑ Developments on the US attack on Syria , handelsblatt.com, April 7, 2017
  33. ↑ Trump's military strike is contrary to international law. Süddeutsche Zeitung, April 7, 2017.
  34. ^ Judith Görs: Was Trump's air strike in Syria illegal? In: NTV.de from April 8, 2017, accessed on April 9, 2017.
  35. ^ Pro-Assad alliance moves closer after air strike in Syria. Tagesschau, April 9, 2017, accessed on April 9, 2017 .
  36. ^ Watchdog Group Sues Trump Administration, Seeking Legal Rationale Behind Syria Strike. New York Times, May 8, 2017.
  37. ^ Complaint. United States District Court for the District of Columbia, May 8, 2017.

Coordinates: 34 ° 30 ′ 2 ″  N , 36 ° 53 ′ 57 ″  E