LONDON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May said Saturday she has authorized the British armed forces to conduct "coordinated and targeted strikes" in response to the alleged April 7 chemical weapons attack in Syria.
"This evening I have authorized British armed forces to conduct coordinated and targeted strikes to degrade the Syrian Regime's chemical weapons capability and deter their use," May said in a statement issued after her nation's participation in the military strikes on Syria.
"We are acting together with our American and French allies," the statement said.
The United States, France and Britain launched the joint military strikes on Syria on Friday without the authorization of the United Nations, which, under the UN Charter, has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
In the statement, the prime minister blamed the Syrian government for the alleged chemical weapons attack on April 7 in the Damascus suburb of Douma, which had killed up to 75 people, including young children.
Syria denied the allegation and reports and accused the West of seeking an excuse for military action.
"This is not about intervening in a civil war," May said of the flagrant move, adding: "It is about a limited and targeted strike that does not further escalate tensions in the region and that does everything possible to prevent civilian casualties."
May said Britain has sought "every possible diplomatic channel" but failed to achieve any results.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it has sent an invitation to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to send a fact-finding mission to investigate the allegation of chemical weapons use in Douma.
In a statement, the ministry stressed the Syrian government is willingness to provide all kinds of help for the mission to carry out its work and hoped the mission could do its work with "full transparency and rely on tangible and credible evidence."
