Turkish presidential aide urges unity post Syria strike

ANKARA, 14 Apr 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: Turkish presidential aide on Saturday urged the international community to unite, saying it would have been “unthinkable to leave Syrian regime unanswered” after its suspected chemical attack in Syria’s Douma.

Ibrahim Kalin’s remarks came after the U.S., U.K. and France launched airstrikes on the Assad regime's alleged chemical weapons facilities in the country.

In a written statement, Kalin said: “Using chemical weapons is a violation of international law and a crime against humanity.

“It would have been unthinkable to leave the Syrian regime -- understood to have conducted a chemical attack in Douma on April 7 -- unanswered. Those who are responsible for this heinous attack should pay the price.”

Calling on the international community to unite in order to prevent any such chemical attacks in the future, he said: “Efforts to only destroy chemical weapons will not be enough to end the instability in the region. The goal should be ending the war in Syria.

“Prevention of all the massacres conducted through conventional and chemical weapons depends on providing a political solution in Syria as soon as possible.

“In this framework, we invite the international community to realize a comprehensive political strategy, which will end the deaths erupted through all chemical and conventional weapons.”

Earlier Friday, the U.S. announced it had "very high confidence" that the Assad regime was responsible for a suspected chemical attack last weekend.

The U.S., U.K. and France jointly launched strikes targeting the Assad regime's alleged chemical weapons research center near Damascus, a chemical weapons warehouse and a command center linked to chemical weapons located west of Homs, U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford said at a joint news conference with American Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

The White Helmets, a civil defense agency, blamed the Assad regime for the alleged chemical attack, which it said killed 78 civilians and injured hundreds of others.