NEW NUMBERS

UN Ambassador Haley: Syria Used Chemical Weapons ‘At Least 50 Times’

The comment, made at a UN Security Council meeting, is reportedly “higher than previous official estimates.”

During the United Nations Security Council meeting Friday on the latest gas attack in Syria, U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley claimed that Syria has used chemical weapons “at least 50 times since” since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, The New York Times reported. “Let’s be clear: Assad’s most recent use of poison gas against the people of Douma was not his first, second, third, or even 49th use of chemical weapons,” Haley said in the UNSC meeting Friday. “The United States estimates that Assad has used chemical weapons in the Syrian war at least 50 times. Public estimates are as high as 200.” The newspaper notes that Haley’s estimate is “substantially higher than previous official estimates.” Haley also said that Trump “has not yet made a decision about possible action in Syria,” after he said earlier this week that he would retaliate against Syria within the next "next 24 to 48 hours." The April 7 gas attack in Douma killed “at least 25” and injured more than 500 others, according to reports.