Local Syrian Man Reacts To Latest Chemical Weapons Attack
CAMBRIDGE (CBS) - For Mohammed Al Bardan, the horrific videos of children gasping for air and victims being hosed down are not just images from a far away, foreign conflict. The Cambridge man's family lives in Damascus, just a few miles down the road from the latest apparent chemical attack in Syria.
"They have this huge guilt feeling of, like, they are living a relatively safe life compared to just three or four miles away. People and families and friends of them are just being targeted on a daily basis," Al Bardan said.
Rebel leaders say at least 40 people were killed when chlorine gas was dropped on the Syrian city of Douma over the weekend. The Syrian regime and their key ally, Russia, have both denied involvement.
The Trump Administration ordered a targeted air strike on a military base in Syria after a chemical weapons attack that took the lives of at least 90 in Syria last year. Al Bardan says that kind of response would be appropriate this time. He also wants a long-term plan to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"We don't need just a reaction. We need more than a reaction. A comprehensive plan for political transition so the Syrian people will be able to get rid of Assad in the future and move gradually toward a democratic country," Al Bardan said.