Latin American countries express concern over rising violence in Syria

Mexico was joined by the governments of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay on Friday to express their "deepest concern" at the escalation of violence in Syria.

The joint statement was released by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with all seven Latin American nations condemning "the inhumane use of chemical weapons in that country against the civilian population, especially children."

"The use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity and a war crime, forbidden by international treaties," read the statement. "The actions to prevent this type of atrocities must be supported by the entire international community."

Finally, it said that the governments of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay "issue a call on all involved parties, including the actors with influence in the region, to exercise the greatest caution to avoid an escalation of tensions and to find a political solution to the highly complex and dramatic situation in Syria, under the charges of the United Nations."

The results of autopsies of victims show that chemical weapons were used in an attack on Idlib in Syria, the Turkish Justice Minister, Bekir Bozdag, announced Thursday. Bozdag declared this analysis was carried out on the bodies of three people taken from Idlib to Adana in Turkey.

More than 100 civilians were killed and 500 others, mostly children, were injured in Tuesday's attack in Idlib, according to the Syrian opposition Health Minister Firas Jundi.

U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the government of Syria's Bashar al-Assad for the attack and launched a targeted missile strike against a Syrian airbase on Thursday. Enditem