By Charlie Anthony-
The U.S treasury has banned 271 Syrians from the Syrian scientific studies and research centre (SSRC).
The ban is in relation to he allegation that the listed Syrian nationals used the centre to develop chemical weapons and the sarin gas used attack innocent civilians on April 4.
Under the ban, individuals whose names are included in the list will also have their assets frozen by American banks and will be barred from doing business with American businesses.
Over 100 Syrians were killed early this month when chemical weapons were used against civilians in Idlib. Children were among the dead. President Trump retaliated with a very limited bombing of some military bases in Syria, designed to limit the capability of Assad’s regime to attack Syria.
The U.S was criticised by Russia and some members of Trump’s cabinet for the unilateral attack against Syria , critics pointing out that the attack was in breach of international law.
The British government expressed support for the attack, having been given advanced notification of the bombardment.
DENIAL
Syria has denied involvement in the attack, though most observers are adamant that
the chemical attack bore all the hallmarks of Assad’s regime. Without hard facts, it is impossible to know with certainty who was responsible for he chemical attack in Syria, but it is fairly safe to conclude with a very high probability that Assad’s regime was responsible for the attack.
Russian planes were accused of bombing a hospital treating the seriously injured, although no proof of this has been produced. Proof is not always easy to show in situations like these, leaving the public to decide what to believe.
DIFFICULTY
With Russia fundamentally on Syria’ s side , the difficulty in trusting an unbiased perspectve remains inevitable. The only certainty is that Bashar All Assad is a dictator who can’t be trusted and whose step down or elimination from power may solve the Syrian crisis, whilst the real threat posed by North Korea continues to loom.