France's Macron says Syria strikes target 'regime chemical weapons capacity'

"We cannot tolerate the normalisation of the use of chemical weapons," he said in a statement issued shortly after huge explosions were heard in Syria's capital early Saturday followed by the sound of airplanes overhead.

For Macron, "the facts and the responsibility of the Syrian regime are not in doubt," concerning the "deaths of dozens of men, women and children" in what he said was a chemical weapons attack on April 7 in Douma.

"The red line set by France in May 2017 has been crossed," he said.

"I have ordered the French army to intervene tonight as part of the international operation in coalition with the US and Britain directed against the secret chemical arsenal of the Syrian regime," he said.