US threatens new action in Syria if UN fails to act on chemical weapons
President Donald Trump has said Tuesday's chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians "crossed many lines" and changed his opinion of the Assad regime.
Speaking at the White House during the visit of King Abdullah of Jordan, Mr Trump described the attack as "horrible, unspeakable" and a "terrible affront to humanity".
Asked if the regime's alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people crossed a "red line" for the new US administration, Mr Trump said: "It crossed a lot of lines for me. When you kill innocent children ... that crosses many, many lines."
Mr Trump has in recent days described any effort to remove President Bashar al-Assad in Syria as secondary to defeating the Isis militant group, and White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the US approach was being driven by a new "reality".
But on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Trump said: "That attack on children yesterday had a big impact on me ... my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed very much."
Earlier, the US envoy to the UN has said America could be "compelled to take its own action" in Syria if the world body fails to act in the wake of the Idlib attack.
"When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley told a Security Council meeting on Syria.
She also said Mr Assad has no incentive to stop using chemical weapons unless Russia stops protecting him.
source; independent
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