Chicago protesters denounce US strike on Syria

Hundreds of protesters have gathered in the US city of Chicago to condemn the recent strike against Syria ordered by President Donald Trump.

Several places in Syria came under attack by US, British and French military forces on April 14 despite international warnings against further escalation of the conflict.

“I ordered the United States Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of” Syria, Trump said in a televised address from the White House.

Tomahawk cruise missiles and other types of bombs were used in the attack which the US said came in response a chemical attack in the Syrian town of Douma on April 7.

The demonstrators on Saturday said that the US government was not telling the truth in justifying the military strike.

"We believe the US lies and comes up with false pretenses to justify military intervention in sovereign foreign countries," a protester said. "So we believe that for people in the US, it's especially important for us to oppose wars abroad, because we have the loudest voice to influence the US government to stop killing people, to let people determine their own destinies in their other countries.” 

“We don't trust what the US government says typically, not without any sort of independent verification, because we know that the US has imperialist interest in Syria. They want to set up a puppet government, so that they control the oil pipelines that are being proposed through there, the resources in Syria," he added.

PressTV-Live updates: Syria under military attack on Trump's orders

The US, the UK and France have launched joint military strikes against Syria.

A day after the attack, Trump claimed that the mission was “accomplished,” saying, “A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of their fine Military.”

The strike came after the West blamed the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a suspected a chemical attack in Douma. Damascus has consistently denied the allegation.

Another protester said that the US has no firm proof that the chemical attack actually took place.

"From what I've read, we have not developed any firm proof that it actually occurred. The United States mentioned that the English bombing occurred before the inspectors could go there and verify the chemical weapons were used. So we really don't know if there was a chemical attack or not. There clearly was a bombing though and we did it."

Trump’s claim about accomplishing a “mission” in Syria is reminiscent of the remarks then-US President George W. Bush made in 2003 when he declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, less than two months of launching the Iraq invasion. The Iraq War, however, continued for eight more years.

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