Major decisions on Syria within 48 hours: Trump

"We are very concerned, when a thing like that can happen. This is about humanity. We’re talking about humanity, and it can’t be allowed to happen," Trump said.

Washington: Denouncing the suspected chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria, US President Donald Trump has promised a decision on it within 48 hours. Trump told his cabinet colleagues that "atrocious and horrible" attacks like these could not be allowed to happen. "We are studying that situation extremely closely. We are meeting with our military and everybody else. And we will be making some major decisions over the next 24 to 48 hours," Trump said yesterday. "We are very concerned, when a thing like that can happen. This is about humanity. We’re talking about humanity, and it can’t be allowed to happen," he said. Later in the evening, he held a meeting on Syria with his top military and national security officials. "Here we are talking about Syria and we're talking about a lot of serious things. We are here to discuss Syria tonight. We're the greatest fighting force anywhere in the world," he said. According to reports, toxic gas was allegedly used on April 7 in Syria's rebel-held town of Douma, killing at least 40 people. Trump also spoke over phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to continue their coordination on responding to Syria's apparent use of chemical weapons on the attack, the White House said. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called upon the Syrian regime and Russia to open the area to international medical assistance and international monitoring. "The chemical weapons attack by the Syrian regime against innocent civilians is horrifying. The images, especially of suffering children, have shocked the conscience of the entire civilised world," Sanders said during her daily news conference yesterday. She alleged that such actions were consistent with Assad's "established pattern of chemical weapons use". "His forces are already responsible for previous chemical weapons attacks and other actions targeting civilians," she said. Sanders also criticised Russia and Iran for "supporting" the Syrian regime in such acts. "The president has noted that Russia and Iran also bear responsibility for these acts, since they would not be possible without their material support. It is also now clear that Russia has betrayed its obligations to guarantee the end of the Syrian regimes chemical weapons program," she said. "We call on all members of the international community to share any information related to this attack and to hold the perpetrators and their sponsors accountable," she said. Sanders said Trump wanted to bring troops home after completing the mission to eradicate ISIS in Syria. "At the same time, he wants to make sure Assad is deterred from chemical weapons attacks on innocent civilians. Signaling we want to remove our troops in no way degrades our ability to hold parties responsible," she said in response to a question. The US, she asserted, was not conducting airstrikes in Syria. "But I can't go beyond that at this point in time," she said.