The suspected poison gas attack in the Syrian town of Douma which killed at least 42 people prompted a week of escalating military and diplomatic tensions between the west on one side, and Syria and its backers, Russia and Iran, on the other.



In the early hours of Saturday morning, the US, UK and France launched more than 100 missiles against what they say are Syrian chemical weapons facilities in response to the attack.

Escalation

Air strikes

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the US, UK and France launched more than 100 missiles against what they say are Syrian chemical weapons facilities in response to a chemical weapons attack in a Damascus suburb a week ago.

The Pentagon said the strikes, which began at 4am Syrian time (2am GMT) on 14 April, involved planes and ship-launched missiles and identified three targets: a scientific research centre in Damascus, a chemical weapons storage facility west of Homs, and another storage site and command post nearby.



The limited action suggests that it is intended as a one-off and that it’s aim, apart from sending a message to Assad to desist from chemical weapons attacks, was to keep away from Russian and Iranian positions to avoid widening the conflict.