WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement on Tuesday in response to reports that the Russian-backed Syrian regime – led by Bashar al-Assad – launched a chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province of Syria, which has left dozens of civilians dead and injured. 

“Reports of a gas or chemical attack on civilians are heartbreaking and enraging. Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian military, aided by their Russian allies, have killed thousands of innocent people and displaced millions from their homes. I strongly urge the White House to demand Russia hold Syria to the 2013 disarmament agreement and punish those responsible for any use of chemical weapons in Syria,” said Murphy.

Earlier this year, on the sixth anniversary of the start of the Syrian civil war, Murphy joined U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in introducing a bipartisan Senate resolution condemning the Assad regime’s blatant disregard for international law and human life. The resolution asked the Trump administration to pursue a strategy that can help bring the brutal conflict to a peaceful conclusion, denounced Iran and Russia for their political and military support of the Assad regime, and called for protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.