APRIL 4

More than 70 people are killed in what doctors say could be a nerve gas attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in the rebel-held Idlib province, northern Syria. US President Donald Trump says the “heinous” actions of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government are the direct result of the Obama administration’s “weakness and irresolution”.

APRIL 5

Downing Street plays down the prospect of military action in retaliation for the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, insisting “nobody is talking” about an armed response.

APRIL 6

19:30 Unnamed US sources say that Pentagon chief Jim Mattis is presenting military options Trump could take in response to the suspected chemical attack.

20:00 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Washington will make an “appropriate response (to the) violations of all previous UN resolutions, violations of international norms”.

Read more: US says it will probe Russian connections to Syria nerve gas attack as tensions mount

He adds: “Assad’s role in the future is uncertain and with the acts that he has taken, it would seem that there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people.”

21:00 Speaking from Air Force One, Trump denounces Assad’s “egregious” crime. He says: “What happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he’s there, and I guess he’s running things, so I guess something should happen.”

APRIL 7

00:30 Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 presidential race, urges the US military to “take out” Syrian government air fields.

Speaking at a Woman in the World Summit – which was attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon – Clinton says: “I still believe we should have done a no-fly zone, I think we should have been more willing to confront Assad.”

She adds: “I really believe that we should have and still should take out his air fields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people.

01:30 Russian ambassador Vladimir Safronkov warns the United States that there could be “negative consequences” if Washington takes military action against Syria.

He says: “All responsibility if military action occurs will be on the shoulders of those who initiated such a doubtful tragic enterprise.”

Read more: US says it will probe Russian connections to Syria nerve gas attack as tensions mount

02:30 US Government announces Trump has ordered a military strike against Syria.

Shayrat Airfield, from where Washington believes the chemical weapon attack was launched, is bombarded by 59 precision guided missiles.

03:00 Trump holds a press conference at his Mar a Lago club in Florida.

He says: “I ordered a targeted military strike on the airfield in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched.

“It is in the vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.

“There can be no dispute that Syria used banned chemical weapons, violated its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and ignored the urging of the UN Security Council.”

He calls on “all civilised nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria, and also to end terrorism of all kinds”.

03:00 Syrian state TV says the strike was “a US act of aggression against Syrian military targets”.

04:30 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports the “strong and clear message” sent by the US strike on Syria, which shares a disputed border with Israel.

“Israel fully supports President Trump’s decision and hopes that this message of resolve in the face of the Assad regime’s horrific actions will resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere.”

Read more: US says it will probe Russian connections to Syria nerve gas attack as tensions mount

Syria’s opposition National Coalition also praises the strike and calls for further US action.

07:00 The Kremlin, which backs the Assad regime, says President Vladimir Putin considers the strike “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international norms, and under an invented pretext”, and warns that it will cause “considerable damage” to the “already lamentable” US-Russia relations.

Iran, a close ally of Assad, says it “strongly condemns” the strike, which will “help the terrorist groups, which are on the back foot, and further complicate the situation in Syria and in the region”.

Saudi Arabia says it “fully backs” the strike in response to Syria’s “odious crimes”.

07:30 The UK Government says it “fully supports” the US action, stating it was “an appropriate response to the barbaric chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian regime, and is intended to deter further attacks”.

09:00 Moscow suspends a bilateral agreement to prevent US and Russian air forces clashing in the skies over Syria.

Read more: US says it will probe Russian connections to Syria nerve gas attack as tensions mount

The Syrian army say that six people were killed and serious damage was caused by the strike.

11:30 Syrian state news reports the nine civilians – including four children – died.

12:00 Assad’s office says the strike “is nothing but foolish and irresponsible behaviour, which only reveals its short-sightedness and political and military blindness to reality”.

16:30 The UN Security Council holds an emergency session to discuss the US military action in Syria.