UN discussing 'game changer' US strike on Syria

By Canberk Yuksel

NEW YORK (AA) - The UN Security Council on Friday began discussing the U.S. strike on Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack in Khan Shaykhun, Idlib.

The meeting was called by Bolivia, whose permanent representative to the global body called the U.S. action "appalling" and "against international law".

"What happened yesterday, we understand, is a violation of the UN Charter," Ambassador Sacha Llorenti told reporters before the session.

"Unilateral actions are prohibited by the charter and we believe that we should defend multilateralism," he added.

Meanwhile, French Ambassador to the UN, Francois Delattre, called the strike a "game changer".

"U.S. strikes are a legitimate response to these attacks and an important signal for the future," Delattre told reporters.

During the meeting, U.K. Ambassador Matthew Rycroft questioned Russia ally Bolivia's intentions.

"The speaker before me shows more outrage against the U.S. than against the Assad regime, which on Tuesday deliberately killed over a hundred men, women, and children in the most barbaric fashion," Rycroft said.

"If you care about the UN Charter, why protect a dictator who has violated international law time and time again?" he asked.

The U.S. late Thursday fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian military air base American officials believe was used to carry out the attack, the Pentagon confirmed.

The U.S. strikes came in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack Tuesday in northwestern Syria that killed more than 100 civilians and injured around 500 others.

A U.S. official at the UN, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, on Friday described the attack as a "perfectly justifiable argument" for U.S. action.