{"slug":"syria-shayrat-tomahawk-strike","title":"Shayrat Airbase Strike: Unilateral Military Action Against Syria Without Congressional Authorization","date":"2017-04-06","lastUpdated":"2017-04-06","description":"On April 6-7, 2017, the United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Shayrat Airbase in Syria — the first direct U.S. military attack on Syrian government forces in the six-year civil war. The strike was ordered unilaterally by Trump without Congressional authorization and was of disputed effectiveness.","summary":"Following a chemical weapons attack on Khan Shaykhun attributed to the Assad regime, Trump ordered a cruise missile strike on the airbase allegedly used to launch the attack. The strike was conducted without Congressional authorization and without a UN Security Council mandate. U.S. officials pre-warned Russia, which warned Syrian forces. The airbase was operational again within hours.","category":"military-overreach","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/world/middleeast/us-said-to-weigh-military-responses-to-syrian-chemical-attack.html","title":"U.S. Strikes Syria Over Chemical Attack","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39506299","title":"Syria war: US launches cruise missile attack on airfield","publisher":"BBC News"},{"url":"https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/legal-authority-syria-strikes","title":"The Legal Authority for the Syria Strikes","publisher":"Lawfare"},{"url":"https://fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/syria-strikes.pdf","title":"Congressional Research Service: Syria Strikes","publisher":"Congressional Research Service"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Syria","military-action","chemical-weapons","first-term","unauthorized-war","war-powers"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-04-04","title":"Khan Shaykhun chemical attack","summary":"A sarin attack on the Syrian town of Khan Shaykhun kills approximately 89 civilians. The OPCW and UN subsequently attribute the attack to Syrian government forces."},{"date":"2017-04-06","title":"Trump orders strike","summary":"Trump orders 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired at Shayrat Airbase from destroyers in the Mediterranean. He is informed of the strike at Mar-a-Lago, where he is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping."},{"date":"2017-04-07","title":"Missiles strike airbase; airbase reopens same day","summary":"The missiles destroy aircraft hangars, ammunition depots, and fuel storage. Syrian and Russian officials report 9 civilian deaths near the base and 6 military deaths. The airbase is reported operational again within hours."}],"location":{"name":"Shayrat Airbase, Homs Governorate, Syria","lat":34.49,"lng":36.91},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"UN Charter","article":"Article 2(4)","provision":"Prohibition on the use of force against another state — strikes on Syrian government military bases without UN Security Council authorization or a valid self-defense claim violate the Charter"},{"statute":"UN Charter","article":"Article 42","provision":"Use of force requires Security Council authorization except in self-defense; neither condition was met"}],"iccRelevance":false,"civilianCasualties":9,"victims":"9 Syrian civilians killed near the airbase according to Syrian state media; 6 Syrian military personnel killed","structuredVictims":[{"group":"Syrian military personnel at Shayrat airbase","status":"6 killed","count":6},{"group":"Syrian civilians near the airbase","status":"9 killed per Syrian government claims","count":9}],"structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2017-04-07","summary":"Updated with casualty figures and airbase reopening."}]}}