Syrian Chemical Weapons

On Tuesday, April 4th, There was a chemical attack of Syrian conflict in Khan Sheikhoun. Hundreds of people died or were injured in the attack. They were showing symptoms of a deadly nerve agent or substance, (organophosphorus chemicals). The next day, Trump blamed Syria’s leader, Bashar al-Assad. The Assad government have been blamed on multiple accounts of using chemical weapons but have denied the accusations. Their officials also agreed to shut down the country's chemical weapons program. Last Friday, April 7th, President Trump warned Russia of the acts using chemical weapons. Russia stated they were furious because it was a blow to U.S.-Russian relations/agreement.

The U.S. also started to wonder if Russia had any knowledge beforehand of the chemical attack. American officials thought Russia had advanced knowledge of the chemical attack. A senior American official told the Associated Press that there is no verification that they were immediately involved but, they saw what seemed like a Russian drone flying over a hospital caring for casualties of the attack. A couple of hours later after spotting them, a Russian-made fighter jet bombed the hospital in what the U.S. thought was a cover up of the fact that Syria used chemical weapons.

Also on April 7th, Trump ordered a missile strike on the Syrian Airbase where is said the chemical attacks were launched from. The strikes were the first time the U.S. has targeted a Syrian Government placement since the country’s civil war 6 years ago. That day, there were many mixed responses on the missile attack.