Unjustified raids

Antonis Stylianou, a law professor at University of Nicosia in Cyprus, said the use of military force in international relations is justified in only two cases: When the force has been authorized by the United Nations Security Council or when the force is used in self-defense.

"Neither was the case in using military force against Syria," he said.

Refuting British Prime Minister Theresa May's allegation that the legal basis for the use of force was protecting the Syrian population from chemical attacks, he said: "This justification will open the bag of Aeolus (god of the winds) in international relations."

The professor was referring to a Greek Homeric phrase which indicates stirring up a storm.

The glaring lack of an international mandate for the airstrikes has registered with not only academics but also a string of political figures in Europe.

Czech President Milos Zeman condemned the strikes on Saturday, announcing that "a military solution to the situation should be the last thing to do".

Former Croatian president Ivo Josipovic also cast doubt over the legitimacy of the airstrikes.

"I think it was supposed that an independent international investigative body would have to check the allegations of using chemical weapons," he said.

"Collective measures should have been taken only when it was confirmed that chemical weapons were used."

It's noticeable that the US-led coalition rushed to launch the strikes on the day when investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Syria, without waiting for their fact-finding report.

The OPCW team came under fire while doing reconnaissance for inspectors to visit sites of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria on Wednesday, and officials said it was no longer clear when the inspectors would be able to go in.