Arab world reacts to US-led airstrikes in Syria

ANKARA

Several Arab countries have voiced support for a U.S.-led airstrike against Syrian regime’s chemical sites on Saturday.

The U.S., France Britain launched the strikes days after a suspected chemical attack killed dozens in Douma in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia said it “fully supports” the airstrikes which “came as a response to the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians, including women and children”.

“The use of such internationally prohibited weapons is a continuation of the horrid crimes the regime has been committing for years against the Syrian people,” an official source with the Foreign Ministry said, quoted by the official SPA news agency.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry also supported the U.S.-led attacks against “specific military targets, used by the Syrian regime to launch attacks on innocent civilians."

In a statement, the ministry reiterated support for all international efforts aimed at reaching a political solution “that fulfills the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and maintains the country’s territorial integrity”.

The Gulf state of Bahrain also said it fully supports the airstrikes against chemical and military sites in Syria.

In a statement, the Bahrain Foreign Ministry said the attacks were “necessary to protect civilians in all Syrian territory and prevent the use of banned weapons”.

Political solution

Kuwait, for is part, regretted what it described as “dangerous escalation” in Syria.

A Foreign Ministry source said the attacks were the result of the failure of the UN Security Council to reach a political solution to the 7-year conflict, according to the official KUNA news agency.

Egypt, meanwhile, voiced deep concern over “the current military escalation in Syria”.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said rejects any use of internationally banned weapons in Syria, calling for a transparent probe into the allegation of using chemical weapons in the country.

Jordan called for reaching a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

“Political solution is the only of the Syrian crisis, which enters its eighth year in a way that guarantees Syria’s stability, territorial integrity and security of its people,” government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said in a statement.

Iraq’s Foreign Ministry described the U.S.-led attacks as a “dangerous behavior”.

"We consider this behavior very dangerous due to its repercussions on innocent citizens," ministry spokesman Ahmad Mahjoub said in a statement.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the U.S.-led airstrikes “don’t contribute to finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis."

"Dialogue has become a necessity to halt the deteriorating situation and reduce foreign interference that has complicated the Syrian crisis,” Aoun said in a statement.

“Lebanon rejects any foreign attacks on any Arab country, regardless the reasons,” he stressed.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict and millions displaced.