Syrian police units enter town of Douma

The government's capture of Douma, the last town held by the rebels in eastern Ghouta, marks a major victory for Assad.

Douma was the last rebel holdout in the eastern Ghouta suburbs, the target of a massive government offensive in February and March.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) fact-finding mission "will continue its deployment to the Syrian Arab Republic to establish facts around the allegations of chemical weapons use in Douma", the agency said in a statement.

An army statement read by chief military spokesman Brig.

The Pentagon says none of the missiles were shot down and that Syria's air defenses were ineffective.

Francis called on "all people of goodwill" to join him in praying for peace, and appealed to political leaders to help "justice prevail".

Jaish al-Islam has said it only agreed to the deal because of the Syrian government's purported use of toxic chemicals on Douma, which medics said killed more than 40 people.

Last Tuesday, the foreign ministry issued a similar commentary condemning Syria for its alleged use of chemical weapons and vowed close cooperation with the global community for the safe dismantlement of such weapons of mass destruction.

The meeting took place at a hotel in the capital Damascus on Sunday.

"Good morning steadfastness", one broadcaster said.

Sablin was quoted as saying that Assad estimates rebuilding the country after years of war would cost $400 billion.

Due largely to divisions among its five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States - the Council could not adopt three draft resolutions that would have responded to a suspected chemical weapons attack in the Syrian town of Douma.

The demonstrations broke out early Saturday following a wave of U.S., British and French military strikes to punish President Bashar Assad for suspected chemical attack against civilians. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, hours before the Western missile strikes.

Moscow pointed out that the Western allies ignored evidence provided by Syria and Russian Federation that the alleged chemical attack was actually staged in a "cynical" manner. It added that such conclusions are also backed by the unwillingness of the United States and its allies to participate in the reconstruction or the areas liberated by the Syrian government.