Syria Says Rebels Using Chemical Weapons, Opposition Denies
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Syrian rebels on Tuesday denied government claims that they had used chemical weapons, blaming President Bashar Assad's regime instead for the deadly rocket attack that caused "breathing problems."
"We understand the army targeted Khan al-Assal (in Aleppo province) using a long-range missile, and our initial information says it may have contained chemical weapons," mainstream rebel Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Muqdad told Agence France Presse.
"There are many casualties and many injured have breathing problems," he said in Istanbul, where Syria's opposition has gathered to pick a rebel prime minister.
He denied claims made earlier Tuesday by Syria's state news agency SANA that "terrorists" -- the name the regime uses for rebels -- "fired rockets containing chemical materials on Khan al-Assal", killing 15 people.
"We have neither long-range missiles nor chemical weapons. And if we did, we wouldn't use them against a rebel target," said Muqdad.
Monitoring groups have frequently accused the army of using long-range missiles to target rebel enclaves in Syria that have slipped out of regime control.
Damascus has also warned it may use its chemical weapons if attacked by outsiders, although not against its own people.
U.S. President Barack Obama told Syria last year there would be "enormous consequences" if chemical weapons were used in the spiraling conflict, which has seen more than 70,000 die.
"This attack would surely cross all red lines set by the international community," Muqdad said.
Syria's chemical weapons stockpile, which dates back to the 1970s, is the biggest in the Middle East, but its precise scope remains unclear, according to analysts, and the regime has not acknowledged having the arms.
The country has hundreds of tonnes of various chemical agents, including sarin and VX nerve agents, as well as older blistering agents such as mustard gas, dispersed in dozens of manufacturing and storage sites, experts say.
But it remains unclear if the chemical weapons are mounted and ready to be launched on Scud missiles, if the chemical agents are maintained effectively, and whether the regime is able to replenish its chemical stocks.
19 March 2013, 12:13
614
This is the regime's pre-amble to use chemical weapons. Anyone that believes ASSad media is a burden to the world's intelligence.
19 March 2013, 14:22
103
the media are also claiming that Assad has already used scud and M-600 missiles against civilians in response. the same applies to those that believe this rubbish... M-600 missiles are used for anti aircraft. the script and game is beginning to play out perfectly!
50 shiites killed in iraq from suicide bombings... now chemical weopens and scud missiles! let the fire engulf the whole area!
19 March 2013, 14:45
00
Way to go my Qawmi friend but don't fall over yourself coming up with rubbish excuses, you know as sir Isaac and Blood, Sweat & Tears taught us what goes up must come down and surface to air missiles can be used to bomb land targets.
19 March 2013, 15:55
00
ado you are not stupid so cut it out with the preposterous arguments. Military units use the weapons the have were they are in any way possible as they need them, the Syrian army was defending bases in Halab and whatever weapons stored in depots in Damascus were no good to them there, so they could have used M-600 missiles against ground targets, it's unheard of. Anti aircraft guns are commonly used to shoot at infantry, armored vehicles and buildings. Heavy machine guns designed for vehicle mount are regularly used by infantrymen. The Lebanese army used the Huey as a bomber in Nahe el Bared. etc etc etc etc...
19 March 2013, 14:55
85
kiserwanimoughadram... where on youtube? do you know the difference between a scud and a mortar or shell? why not youtube baba ghannouj, because that will show whats in your head :)
19 March 2013, 16:56
45
More on Britamgate ...
~British defense contractor’s BRITAM server was hacked and megabytes of classified internal files of the firm were released to the public.
~Who would perpetrate the video-recorded delivery of CWs to Homs? The text of mail clearly indicates that they would use Britam’s Ukrainian personnel for forging videos.
~On January 15 the US Foreign Policy journal made public a ‘secret State Department cable’ concluding that ‘the Syrian military likely used chemical weapons against its own people in a deadly attack last month’.
http://www.voltairenet.org/art...
Of course the first country to develop this news was ... Britain! What a coincidence ! The original contractor for this False Flag was British defense contractor BRITAM.
19 March 2013, 18:34
33
Update ...
"US says 'no evidence' Syria rebels used chemical weapons"
~What if neither the regime nor the rebels used these chemical weapons but were the work of foreign mercenaries???
~ More doublespeak by the USA ... Just like when they denied their drones being captured they said they weren't missing any "Navy Drones" when in fact the drones belonged to the CIA not the Navy.
20 March 2013, 08:39
10
the media are also claiming that Assad has already used scud and M-600 missiles against civilians in response. the same applies to those that believe this rubbish... M-600 missiles are used for anti aircraft. the script and game is beginning to play out perfectly!
that is where mowaten...
19 March 2013, 12:18
57
This is the excuse that the west is waiting for, now for a grand finale, god help us of what's coming next.
19 March 2013, 12:56
37
@ Mowaten, check this link and see why your God Bashar did what he did today. The FSA liberated Khan Assal two weeks ago and here's the video proof. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAi_ZYyXYxo Your lies are outdated and nobody believes your BS anymore.
19 March 2013, 13:08
55
Your mentally retarted readers are top analysts, when an educated person reads these comments he understands why those people stick their noses in military analysis, oh well this depends to which tribe they belong to. The Arabs ought to understand that they are still a tribal society. It is an insult to say, if asked, "I am an Arab". I wonder why your respected Naharnet publishes this garbage.
19 March 2013, 13:30
57
No one will believe the butcher bachar of these accusation, except M8 followers of course...oh and Iran...
19 March 2013, 13:37
36
One thing to come out of all this is that the Syrian regime is allot more credible than what people thought it was,now when they make a claim i am now starting to believe them, before i used to think they were the biggest liars!
Remeber back in the days it was,
1. there is no armed opposition...FALSE
2. weapons are not being smuggled ito Syria...FALSE
3. there are no jihadis...FALSE
4. The regime is behind kidnappings, like the pilgrims...FALSE
and now, i'm afraid the same thing is probably being repeated again :(
19 March 2013, 16:00
00
Do you remember Wakid Mouallem's video "evidence"? I'm afraid this time what simon1 say is not credible :(
19 March 2013, 14:13
38
roar, it's your right to believe a ruthless dictator that gets %99.999 of the people votes (dead and alive)...
19 March 2013, 14:15
46
the regime has no reason to use Scud missiles yet.. nice try mowaten sourri
19 March 2013, 14:32
45
In 1989 the Syrians also insisted it was a Lebanese army shell killed Ambassador Pedro Manuel de Aristegui and Lebanese author Toufic Youssef Awad even though the evidence showed the home was hit by a Katyusha rocket. But who care about evidence when the Assads could always rely on their passionate "Lebanese" apologists to defend the indefensible.
19 March 2013, 14:35
38
Standard regime tactic blame the victim. All red lines have been crossed and some supporters remain deaf and blind.
19 March 2013, 14:50
00
Sources in the Syrian foreign ministry denied to al-Manar that Syrian planes bombarded Lebanese territories.
but of course that would be impossible because as we all know there is no such thing as Lebanese territories as Lebanon is part of Syria.
19 March 2013, 15:26
34
Britamgate: Staging False Flag Attacks in Syria
"In this context we should not forget the reports circulating since last year that the rebel fighters in Syria had been given gas masks and were willing to stage a chemical weapons attack which would then be blamed on the Assad regime to grease the skids for NATO military intervention."
Sure looks like the "reboot" of a plan uncovered not so long ago. False flag operations to give NATO and the Western Media permission for the go ahead of direct intervention ...
19 March 2013, 18:47
23
Khan 3asal is a rebel area you racist inhumane thug, I hope people like you burn in hell. Aleppo is 70 percent I'm rebel hands and 100 percent by the summer inchala. Why would the rebels bomb their own people?? Didn't you see the MIGs, scuds, TNT barrels being used by your satanic god bashsr khara. Tfeh 3alak and 3a amsalak
19 March 2013, 18:48
12
No no no! You all got it wrong! The Western world has been sitting in silence for 2 years now there is no reason for them to jump the gun and attempt to use chemical weapons as a prelude for an invasion or an attack against the nobel Assad family.
Same on the other hand Assad have not and will not use weapons that will kill civilians, he's a peaceful caring loving man and will never put his people in harms way. They keep on blaming him of bombing bakeries, killing civilians and politicians in lebanon (they even brainwashed one of his men Michelle Samaha to say so), they even are attempting to blame him of using SCUD missiles against unarmed civilians! Damn western propaganda machine!
The truth is Aliens from outter space are watching Syria got bored of the current progression and simply wanted more "action". That's the only way this makes any sense :)
19 March 2013, 18:51
13
Please rest your fingers, the west doesn't want to intervene and if bashar won in 2011 they would have been more than okay with him. It is the biblical resilience of the Syrian people that unleashed all the western lip service hypocrisy and they realized that bashar needs to go and they are very confused how to keep their allies the alawites with some power
19 March 2013, 21:16
12
and still FPMers and hezbos to defend bashar! lol... basing their "truths" on SANA or voltaire net both known for their partial and biased news...
ite missa est....
