US Warns Regime of ‘Swift’ Response if it Uses Chemical Weapons in Syria

The US warns the regime against using chemical weapons again against civilians. (Reuters)
The US warns the regime against using chemical weapons again against civilians. (Reuters)
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US Warns Regime of ‘Swift’ Response if it Uses Chemical Weapons in Syria

The US warns the regime against using chemical weapons again against civilians. (Reuters)
The US warns the regime against using chemical weapons again against civilians. (Reuters)

The United States warned on Tuesday the Syrian regime and its allies against the use of chemical weapons in the ongoing war in the country.

It vowed a “swift and appropriate” response if regime leader Bashar Assad used the prohibited weapons again.

The White House also said in a statement that it was closely monitoring developments in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib region, where the regime is expected to mount an offensive that could spark a humanitarian disaster.

President Donald Trump in the past year and a half has twice ordered US-led air strikes against targets in Syria in response to the regime’s use of chemical weapons against civilians.

In a tweet on Monday, Trump warned Assad and his allies Iran and Russia not to “recklessly attack” the Idlib province and warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States is closely monitoring the situation in Idlib province and that Trump has warned an attack there would be a reckless escalation of an already tragic conflict and would risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

She said the United States will work with its allies to find a lasting diplomatic solution to resolve the hostilities in Syria under the auspices of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.

Russian warplanes resumed on Tuesday strikes against Idlib after a 22-day halt.

At least nine civilians were killed in the raids, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The British-based monitor said that five children from the same family were killed in the strikes, while 10 people were wounded.



Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
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Tunisia Hands Lengthy Prison Terms to Top Politicians and Former Security Officials

Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)
Leader of Tunisia's Ennahda party House Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, center, flashes a victory sign as he arrives for questioning at the judicial police headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia, April 1, 2022. (AP)

A Tunisian court on Tuesday handed jail terms of 12 to 35 years on high-profile politicians, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former security officials, a move that critics say underscores the president's use of the judiciary to cement “authoritarian rule”.

Among those sentenced on charges of conspiring against the state in the major mass trial, were Nadia Akacha, the former chief of staff to President Kais Saied, local radio Mosaique FM said. Akacha who fled abroad received 35 years.

Ghannouchi, 84, veteran head of the Islamist-leaning Ennahda party, was handed a 14-year term.

Ghannouchi who was the speaker of the elected parliament dissolved by Saied, has been in prison since 2023, receiving three sentences of a total of 27 years in separate cases in recent months.

A total of 21 were charged in the case, with 10 already in custody and 11 having fled the country.

The court sentenced former intelligence chief Kamel Guizani to 35 years, former Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem to 35 years, and Mouadh Ghannouchi, son of Rached Ghannouchi, to 35 years. All three have fled the country.

Saied dissolved the parliament in 2021 and began ruling by decree, then dissolved the independent Supreme Judicial Council and sacked dozens of judges, a move that opposition called a coup which undermined the nascent democracy that sparked in 2011 the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings.

Saied rejects the accusations and says his steps are legal and aim to end years of chaos and corruption hidden within the political elite.

Most opposition leaders, some journalists, and critics of Saied have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021.

This year, a court handed jail terms of 5 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring as well, a case the opposition says is fabricated in an attempt to stamp out opposition to the president.