Americans are murderers: Massive protest in Athens against Syria airstrikes

Thousands of Greeks turned up at a rally and march in central Athens organised by the Communist Party to protest the US-led airstrikes against Syria.

The protesters gathered Saturday at Athens' central Syntagma Square before marching to the US Embassy, chanting anti-US slogans and carrying banners.

Some wrote on the pavement in red paint: "Americans, murderers of people."

Police vehicles barricaded access to the embassy and protesters left peacefully.

Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the Communist Party's leader, blasted Greek politicians for believing "flimsy excuses about a use of chemical weapons" by Syria.

He also criticized their "subservience" to the EU and NATO, as well as their support for Israel.

He told the crowd "the imperialists once again spill the blood of the local people. They destroy and splinter states by using fabricated evidence.

As missiles hit Syria, here's a rundown of who the major players are

In the days since an alleged chemical attack outside Damascus, the pressure in Syria has risen dramatically. With outside powers launching missile strikes on Syrian ground targets as the Assad government’s backers warned them against it, here’s a rundown of who the major players are.

Bashar al-Assad

Scott Lucas, University of Birmingham

Among those glancing at Syria’s seven-year conflict, a simple but misleading declaration is circulating: “Assad is winning”. But the Assad regime has only survived because of the political, economic and military life support it’s had from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah. It is now entirely dependent on them.

And that’s for rule over just a part of Syria. The opposition, though very dependent on Turkish protection, holds much of the north-west, and it also – for now – controls territory in the south along the Jordanian border. Kurdish groups have taken much of northern and eastern Syria after pushing back the so-called Islamic State (IS).

Warship ruse, new stealth missiles: How US, UK and France attacked Syria

President Donald Trump’s outrage over another apparent chemical weapons attack by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was clear. And for the second time in his presidency, the US commander-in-chief demanded retaliation.

As images of sick or dying children flooded global media all week, the US guided-missile destroyer USS Winston Churchill churned toward the Mediterranean to join a flotilla of allied warships, including another US destroyer, the USS Donald Cook.

It was a ruse.

While both vessels carry as many as 90 Tomahawk missiles -- the main weapon used in the Friday evening strike on Syria -- neither ship, in the end, fired a shot. Instead, according to a person familiar with White House war planning, they were part of a plan to distract Russia and its Syrian ally from an assault Assad’s government could do little to defend itself against.