ANKARA
The deaths of over 100 civilians and some 500 more hurt or injured in an alleged chemical weapons attack by regime forces in the opposition-held Syrian province of Idlib has sparked international outrage.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement Tuesday he was "deeply disturbed" by the reports of a chemical attack.
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric earlier called the reports "extremely alarming and disturbing", adding that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has begun a fact-finding mission on the attack, on the town of Khan Shaykun.
"If [the attack] is what it looks like, it is clearly a war crime," said a senior U.S. State Department official on condition of anonymity.
The official slammed Damascus' international guarantors, Iran and Russia, saying they "have a lot to answer for".
"Russia has said it had nothing to do with the airstrikes in Syria today, but that’s not the issue. The issue is their apparent inability or unwillingness to hold the regime to its own commitments, and to account,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson later said in a statement, "Those who defend and support him, including Russia and Iran, should have no illusions about Assad or his intentions."
"As the self-proclaimed guarantors to the ceasefire negotiated in Astana [Kazakhstan], Russia and Iran also bear great moral responsibility for these deaths," he added.
Senior U.S. Senator John McCain also slammed the attack, squarely placing blaming on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who he said is likely "encouraged" by recent statements from the Trump administration signaling the U.S. is no longer seeking his ouster.
"I’m sure they’re encouraged to know that the United States is withdrawing and seeking some kind of new arrangement with the Russians," McCain told CNN. "It is another disgraceful chapter in American history, and it was predictable."
Assad's war crimes, he said, are on a “scale almost unmatched since Nazi Germany or Pol Pot" of Cambodia.
For its part, the White House denied any correlation between the attack and its recent distancing from regime change in Syria, but maintained "there is not a fundamental option" to oust Assad.
The attack, spokesman Sean Spicer said, is "reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world", placing blame on former President Barack Obama for failing to attack Assad after Obama threatened to do so following chemical attacks in 2013.
"These heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime are a consequence of the last administration’s weakness and irresolution,” he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the attack in a message posted on Twitter by her spokesman Steffen Seibert.
“Such war crimes should be punished,” she said.
Emergency UN meeting
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault called on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the attack.
"In the face of such serious actions that threaten international security, I ask for everyone not to shirk their responsibilities. With this in mind, I ask for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council," he said in a written statement.
Ayrault also stated that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was "an unacceptable violation" of the Chemical Weapon Convention (CWC), a UN-backed treaty against weapons of mass destruction.
The attack was also condemned by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
"The UK condemns the use of chemical weapons wherever and by whomever they are used and we will continue to lead international efforts to hold perpetrators to account," Johnson said in a statement.
"If this is shown to be the work of the regime, it is further evidence of the atrocities perpetrated against the Syrian people over six years of appalling conflict," the statement added.
The European Union condemned the "awful" attack, adding that the regime of Bashar al-Assad bears responsibility for the attack.
"Obviously there is a primary responsibility there of the regime because it has responsibility of protecting its people not attacking its people," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters in Brussels.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom demanded a rapid investigation of the attack.
"Horrified by reports of chemical weapons attack in Idlib. Must be investigated without delay. Impunity cannot be tolerated," she said on Twitter.
Turkey’s deputy prime minister expressed hope Tuesday that Russia would not veto a UN Security Council resolution against the Syrian regime.
“I hope the Russians won’t veto decisions taken by the UN Security Council,” Numan Kurtulmus told a TV channel.
Muslim group decries attack by 'tryant' regime
The attack came from the air, according to UN Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura.
He called for “clear identification of responsibilities and accountability.”
In a written statement, Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano condemned the "shocking" gas attack on "helpless civilians" in Syria.
The World Muslim Scholars Association and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) -- a sister group of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- also condemned the attack carried out by the "tyrant” and “killer" regime.
Tuesday’s attack came one day after regime aircraft carried out a similar chlorine gas attack on Idlib’s town of Al-Habit, injuring or hurting dozens.
Last year, a UN-appointed investigation panel found that chemical weapons were used by regime forces and opposition fighters in 2014 and 2015. However, no actionable steps were taken.
