Trump Warns Russia: Syria Strikes 'Coming'

Willa Frej
Updated

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that American airstrikes on Syria, in retaliation for a deadly chemical attack, were imminent.

Trump directed a morning tweet at Russia, the Syrian government’s primary ally in the years-long civil war President Bashar Assad has waged against rebel groups. The Kremlin has warned the U.S. it planned to shoot down any U.S. missiles headed for Syria.

“Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’” Trump tweeted. “You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

Trump, with his rhetoric, has taken an unusually hard line against the Assad regime’s brutality, condemning the attack as “sick” and “atrocious” and even coining a new nickname for the country’s leader: “Animal Assad.”

The president said Monday that he’d respond within 48 hours, though his administration has yet to formally announce any strikes. Trump did, however, speak with French President Emmanuel Macron and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday about a possible coordinated response, according to the White House.

Trump reacted forcefully one year ago, following a similar chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. He ordered cruise missile strikes on a Syrian airbase, a move experts said did little to deter Assad’s campaign against his own people. Conventional and chemical attacks have continued in the past year, focused on the eastern Ghouta region, one of the last remaining rebel strongholds.

The United Nations refugee agency estimates that more than 133,000 people have fled the region in the past month. More than 1,000 have also been killed in the last two weeks, according to Doctors Without Borders.

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A wounded child receives medical treatment at Sahra hospital after the Assad regime forces attacked with chlorine gas in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria on April 4, 2017.
A wounded child receives medical treatment at Sahra hospital after the Assad regime forces attacked with chlorine gas in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria on April 4, 2017.
A child gets treatment at a hospital after Assad regime forces attacked with suspected chlorine gas.
A child gets treatment at a hospital after Assad regime forces attacked with suspected chlorine gas.
A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. 
A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. 
Civil defense members try to reduce the effects of chlorine gas with water as they carry out search and rescue efforts after a gas attack in Syria.
Civil defense members try to reduce the effects of chlorine gas with water as they carry out search and rescue efforts after a gas attack in Syria.
A wounded child waits for treatment at a hospital after Assad Regime forces attacked with chlorine gas to the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria.
A wounded child waits for treatment at a hospital after Assad Regime forces attacked with chlorine gas to the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria.
Children get treatment at a hospital. 
Children get treatment at a hospital. 
A man carries the body of a dead child, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria on April 4, 2017.
A man carries the body of a dead child, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria on April 4, 2017.
Bodies of chlorine gas victims are seen after Assad regime forces attacked with chlorine gas.
Bodies of chlorine gas victims are seen after Assad regime forces attacked with chlorine gas.
A still image taken from a video posted to a social media website on April 4, 2017, shows people lying on the ground said to be in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in rebel-held Idlib, Syria.
A still image taken from a video posted to a social media website on April 4, 2017, shows people lying on the ground said to be in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in rebel-held Idlib, Syria.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.