Calls grow for action over Syria 'chemical attack'
AFP / HOAn image grab taken from a video released by the Syrian Civil Defence in Douma shows an unidentified volunteer holding an oxygen mask over a child's face at a hospital following an alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town
Calls grew on Monday for an international response to an alleged chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held Syrian town, with the United States warning that it was not excluding military action.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Monday that Washington does not "rule out anything" in terms of a response, despite Russia arguing against jumping to any "dangerous" conclusions over the suspected attack.
With tensions high, the spectre of Western military action was raised by deadly missile strikes on a regime airbase, but Damascus and Moscow said Israel was responsible.
The crisis was due to be discussed later Monday at an urgent UN Security Council meeting, with the US and France promising a "strong, joint response" to the suspected gas attack on Saturday in Douma, a battered opposition-held town near Damascus.
President Donald Trump -- who last year launched a missile strike on a regime base after another alleged chemical attack -- warned after the latest accusations that there would be a "big price to pay".
Damascus and Moscow have denied any use of chemical weapons, but French President Emmanuel Macron's office said he and Trump had shared information "confirming" the gas attack.
AFP / Gal ROMASyria
Britain was the latest country to urge action on Monday, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson calling for a "strong and robust international response".
Russia, which has repeatedly said that rebels in Syria could be a preparing a "provocation" to prompt foreign military action, warned against jumping to conclusions.
"It's necessary to examine very carefully what happened in Douma. And it goes without saying that without this information, making any deductions is wrong and dangerous," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
- Investigation launched -
Rescuers and medics in Douma say at least 48 people died after a "poisonous chlorine gas attack" late on Saturday in Douma, the last rebel-held pocket of the onetime opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta.
Access to the area, which has faced weeks of regime bombardment, is limited and there has been no way to independently verify the accounts.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a UN watchdog, said it was investigating the allegations but that so far only a "preliminary analysis" had been carried out.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian experts had visited the site of the alleged attack and "did not find any trace of chlorine or any other chemical substance used against civilians".
Both Damascus and Moscow had warned against using the allegations to justify military action against President Bashar al-Assad.
Douma City Coordination Committee/AFP / HOAn image grab taken from a video released by the Douma City Coordination Committee shows unidentified volunteers spraying a man with water at a make-shift hospital following an alleged chemical attack on the rebel-held town of Douma on April 7, 2018
It briefly appeared in the early hours of Monday that action had been taken, as Syrian state media reported missile strikes on an airbase, but blame later fell on Israel which has carried out repeated strikes on regime targets.
Initially pointing the finger at Washington, state news agency SANA said the missiles had hit the T-4 airbase in central Syria.
Washington and Paris denied having carried out the strikes and SANA and the Russian army said later that Israeli F-15s had fired several missiles at the base from Lebanese airspace.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the country's conflict, said 14 fighters were killed, including Syrian army officers and Iranian forces.
Israel declined to comment on the latest strike.
- Israel targeted 'Iranian forces' -
Nick Heras, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, said Israel appeared to have seized on a moment of international outrage over Douma to strike Syria.
AFP / STRINGERA picture taken on April 8, 2018, shows Syrian Army soldiers gathering in an area on the eastern outskirts of Douma, as they continue their offensive to retake the last opposition holdout in Eastern Ghouta
"On the eve of potential US and French strikes against Assad in response to the Douma gas attack, it is likely the Israelis already had the intention to strike at the T-4 base, and timed their attack to maximise the destruction they could inflict on Iranian forces," he told AFP.
Israel has repeatedly warned it will not accept its arch-foe Iran entrenching itself militarily in Syria.
In February, it accused Iranian forces at the T-4 base of sending a drone into Israeli territory. After targeting Iranian units in Syria in retaliation, an Israel F-16 was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft fire in one of the conflict's most notable escalations.
Israel then carried out what it called "large-scale" raids on Syrian air defence systems and Iranian targets, which reportedly included T-4.
Lebanon's National News Agency on Monday said Israeli warplanes were flying near the country's border with Syria.
Backed by Moscow, Assad has waged an assault since February 18 on Ghouta that has killed more than 1,700 civilians and left Islamist rebels cornered in their last holdout of Douma, Ghouta's largest town.
After capturing most of Ghouta, Syria and its ally Russia secured two negotiated withdrawals last month that saw 46,000 rebels and civilians evacuate.
SANA/AFP / HandoutRelatives reunite after buses carrying a first batch of detainees released after being held hostage in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma arrived in Damascus late on April 8, 2018
Following fraught negotiations and a concentrated regime bombing blitz, state media on Sunday announced a deal was reached for Jaish al-Islam to leave Douma within 48 hours and release hostages it
Nigeria's Buhari to run for re-election next year
AFP/File / SUNDAY AGHAEZEBuhari was nicknamed 'Baba go slow' for his lethargic pace in office
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari declared Monday he would seek re-election next year, in a move that put an end to months of speculation amid concerns over his health.
The 75-year-old former general and one-time military head of state made the announcement in the national capital Abuja following a meeting with the national executive of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party.
Buhari, nicknamed "Baba Go Slow" for his lethargic pace in office, will have to convince his divided party he is fit to run after spending months in London last year seeking medical treatment for an undisclosed illness.
If nominated, he faces the Herculean task of convincing Nigerians he is the best candidate to steer the country out of its worst recession in 25 years after implementing a series of unorthodox policies blamed for worsening the economic crisis.
"President @Buhari has just announced his intention to seek the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and contest for a second term of Office in the 2019 elections," the presidency said on Twitter.
"Victory is sure by the grace of God and together we must continue to sanitise Nigeria's political environment," said Buhari in a statement.
Buhari was voted into power in 2015 on a platform vowing to crack down on endemic graft and stamp out the Boko Haram jihadist insurgency ravaging the country's northeast.
His disciplinarian reputation enamoured him to voters fed up with politicians living the high life while roads crumbled and electricity sputtered.
The shine came off Buhari's leadership after his so-called war on corruption lost momentum, with many high-profile cases halted by endless adjournments.
Meanwhile, Boko Haram still stages deadly attacks on military and civilian targets despite Buhari's insistence that the group is "technically" defeated.
In February, the Islamists embarrassed the government by driving unopposed into the northeastern town of Dapchi and kidnapping over 100 schoolgirls.
But arguably Buhari's biggest battle will be to prove that he can shepherd Nigeria to strong growth after a crash in oil prices caused the economy to collapse.
- 'Genuine discontent' -
"It will not be as easy as it was in 2015," said political analyst Chris Ngwodo about Buhari's re-election bid.
"It will not be automatic, other people also want to run for the election and there is genuine discontent in the party."
BOKO HARAM/AFP/File / HandoutBoko Haram still stages deadly attacks on military and civilian targets despite Buhari's insistence that the group is 'technically' defeated
In March, Buhari made his first official visit to Lagos, the country's teeming economic hub, to court Bola Tinubu, a political grandee who played a pivotal role in securing the key region for the APC.
It's no surprise that Buhari was there, explained Cheta Nwanze, from SBM Intelligence, a Lagos-based advisory firm.
"His main challenge will be to build a solid bloc within an APC," Nwanze said, adding "the big election issue will be the economy."
Buhari has been criticised for aggravating the recession by introducing a currency peg that spooked investors and depleted foreign reserves.
He will also have to answer to growing concerns about the escalating conflict between pastoralists and farmers that is claiming hundreds of lives in clashes across the country and stoking ethnic division.
"It's not just Boko Haram but the pastoral conflict," said Nwanze.
- 'Not a thief' -
Lagos residents had mixed feelings about Buhari's re-election bid.
AFP/File / PIUS UTOMI EKPEIThe economy collapsed after a crash in oil prices
"Buhari should not come back because of his failing health," said Alfred Nyitse, an unemployed 30-year-old. "The man is too old for the job."
Godspower Ekwueme, a 61-year-old retired civil servant, agreed.
"I don't want the president to run again," said Ekwueme. "He was away in London for most of last year receiving treatment abroad. I have not seen any improvement."
Others were more enthusiastic.
"We want him to come back so that he can finish the good work he has started," said Remilekun Adeyemi, a trader.
"I like Baba very well," said Abdullahi Ali, a motor-cycle taxi driver. "My people will vote for him again because he is not a thief." was holding.
Several buses of detainees arrived in Damascus overnight after having been freed by Jaish al-Islam, and rebels were being evacuated in a parallel operation on Monday, SANA said.
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