Arab League foreign ministers on Sunday urged the United Nations and the international community to take “deterrent” action against the Syrian regime over alleged chemical attacks near Damascus.
But they fell short of calling for military strikes as proposed by the United States, amid divisions in Arab ranks with several countries opposed to foreign intervention in Syria.
| Ah, not those deterrent steps! |
“The United Nations and the international community are called upon to assume their responsibilities in line with the UN Charter and international law by taking the necessary deterrent measures” following the August 21 suspected chemical attacks, they said in a statement.
The ministers, meeting in Cairo, said the Syrian regime was “responsible” for the attacks which the United States says killed hundreds of people with the use of sarin gas.
The Arab foreign ministers said those responsible for unleashing the poison gas in Syria must be tried before an international court “like other war criminals.”
They also called for “all forms of support needed by the Syrian people” but without explicitly calling for military strikes as proposed by the United States and France. |