NATO chief 鈥榮upports鈥� Syria strikes: statement

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gestures during a media conference with Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, on Thursday, April 12, 2018. (AP)
  • 鈥淣ATO considers the use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security"
  • Use of chemical weapons was 鈥渁 clear breach of international norms and agreements鈥�

BRUSSELS, Belgium: The head of NATO expressed his support for Western strikes in Syria on Saturday after bombings targeting Bashar Assad鈥檚 regime in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack.
鈥淚 support the actions taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and France... This will reduce the regime鈥檚 ability to further attack the people of Syria with chemical weapons,鈥� Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus early Saturday, as US President Donald Trump announced the punitive strikes in a joint operation with France and Britain.
They come a week after a suspected deadly gas attack on the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma that left dozens dead.
Stoltenberg said the Syrian regime鈥檚 use of chemical weapons was 鈥渁 clear breach of international norms and agreements.鈥�
鈥淣ATO considers the use of chemical weapons as a threat to international peace and security, and believes that it is essential to protect the Chemical Weapons Convention,鈥� the statement added.
鈥淭his calls for a collective and effective response by the international community.鈥�