UK will back US over another Syria attack

Britain's defence secretary says the UK will support the US if it retaliates against Syria for any use of chemical weapons.

File: Syrian Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub inspecting the damage in al-Shairat Air Base

File: Syrian Chief of the General Staff of the Army and Armed Forces Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayoub inspecting the damage in al-Shairat Air Base Source: SANA

Britain will support any fresh retaliation by the US for the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon says.

The White House says it has "potential" evidence the Syrian military is preparing for another chemical attack against rebel forces and has warned the regime will pay a "heavy price" if it goes ahead.

Fallon says Britain backed the US administration of President Donald Trump when it mounted missile strikes against the regime following a chemical attack last April and was prepared to do so again.

"As always in war, the military action you use must be justified, it must be legal, it must proportionate, it must be necessary. In the last case it was," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today program.

"If the Americans take similar action again, I want to be very clear - we will support it."

Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
UK will back US over another Syria attack | SBS News