FYI
BBC News Middle East 25 August 2013 Last updated at 13:33 GMT Syria to allow UN inspect 'chemical weapon' attack site The Syrian government has agreed to allow UN inspectors to immediately investigate allegations of a suspected chemical weapon attack near Damascus. The move came shortly after a senior US official told reporters there was "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon had been used by government forces. Activists say Syrian forces killed more than 300 people in several suburbs east and west of the capital on Wednesday. The Syrian authorities have denied any responsibility and blamed "terrorists". State media have reported that chemical agents have been found in tunnels used by rebel fighters, and also that soldiers "suffered from cases of suffocation" when rebels used poison gas "as a last resort" after government forces made "big gains" in the suburb of Jobar. 'Neurotoxic symptoms' The Syrian foreign ministry statement broadcast on state television said an agreement to allow UN chemical weapons experts to "investigate allegations of chemical weapons use in Damascus province" had been concluded on Sunday with the UN's disarmament chief, Angela Kane. The agreement was "effective immediately", the statement added. Earlier, a senior Obama administration official told reporters in Washington that there was "very little doubt" that a chemical weapon had been used by Syrian government forces. The US intelligence community had based its assessment on "the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts, and other facts gathered by open sources", the unnamed official said. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) meanwhile said that three hospitals it supports in the Damascus area had treated about 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms" early on Wednesday morning, of whom 355 died. While MSF said it could not "scientifically confirm" the use of chemical weapons, staff at the hospitals described a large number of patients arriving in the space of less than three hours with symptoms including convulsions, pin-point pupils and breathing problems. 'Red line' On Saturday evening, US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron agreed that "significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community", a Downing Street statement said. Later, Syria's Information Minister, Omran Zoabi, warned that US military action in Syria would not be a "walk in the park". "The military intervention in Syria has proved to be a weak case because Syria is still a strong state. It has institutions, an army," he added. "It has friends and allies in the region." "If the US leads a military intervention this will have dangerous consequences, it will bring chaos and the region will burn." The deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, Gen Massoud Jazayeri, also warned that there would be "severe consequences" if the US crossed what he called a "red line" on Syria. A year ago, President Obama said that any attempt by Syria to use its chemical weapons would be a "red line" for the US, and change his administration's "calculus" in the region. In his first broadcast interview since fleeing Syria, former foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi told the BBC on Sunday that if government forces were responsible for a chemical attack, it was suicidal. "If it is used by the regime it is suicidal, if it is used by fanatical groups it is also criminal. So we have to end this insanity and give hope for Syrians to say that yes we can gain something through dialogue," he said. But Mr Makdissi rejected foreign military intervention if it is proved that the government was responsible, saying that launching missiles would solve nothing and only escalate the conflict. The head of a Sunni jihadist rebel group, the al-Nusra Front, meanwhile promised to target President Assad's minority Alawite sect in revenge for Wednesday's attack. "For every chemical rocket that had fallen on our people in Damascus, one of their villages will, by the will of God, pay for it," Abu Mohammed al-Golani said in the recording posted online. BBC BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
