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UK WARNS OF 'CHEMICAL CATASTROPHE' IN SYRIA IF ASSAD TOPPED
July 11, 2013 - 08:59 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's huge array of chemical weapons could fall
into the hands of militants if President Bashar Assad was toppled,
with "catastrophic" consequences, according to a report by senior
British lawmakers published on Wednesday, July 10.
Britain's foreign intelligence services had no doubt Syria owned
"vast stockpiles" of such weapons, including mustard gas, sarin,
ricin and VX, the deadliest nerve agent, parliament's Intelligence
and Security Committee (ISC) said in its report, according to Haaretz.
Last month, the United States said Assad's forces had used the nerve
agent sarin on a small scale multiple times against opposition
fighters, an assessment with which the British government said
it agreed.
On Tuesday, Russian's UN envoy reported that Russian scientific
analysis had indicated that Syrian rebels had also used sarin in an
attack on the city of Aleppo in March. On Wednesday, the opposition
Syrian National Coalition denied this report.
The committee said the SIS had told them that "the most worrying
point about our intelligence on Syria's attitude to chemical weapons
is how low a threshold they have for its use."
The report also said that Britain's spy chiefs believed al-Qaeda groups
and individual militants who have gained expertise and experience in
Syria posed the biggest emerging threat to the West.
"Large numbers of radicalized individuals have been attracted to
the country, including significant numbers from the UK and Europe,"
it said.
Last week, Britain's top counter-terrorism official said the conflict
in Syria had brought large numbers of al-Qaeda fighters close to
Europe for the first time.
So far, chief UN chemical weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom's team has
not traveled to Syria because of diplomatic wrangling over the scope
of access he would have there.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants Sellstrom to have unfettered
access to investigate all credible alleged chemical attacks while
Assad's government wants the UN experts to confine their investigation
to the March 19 incident. That disagreement has caused a deadlock
in talks between the United Nations and Syria on access for the
inspection team.
Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari on Monday said his government has
invited Sellstrom and UN disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus
to discuss allegations of banned arms use in Syria's two-year civil
war but suggested it would not compromise on access.
The senior Western diplomat said Sellstrom and Kane were expected to
accept the invitation and travel to Damascus soon to discuss ways of
breaking the deadlock.
July 11, 2013 - 08:59 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Syria's huge array of chemical weapons could fall
into the hands of militants if President Bashar Assad was toppled,
with "catastrophic" consequences, according to a report by senior
British lawmakers published on Wednesday, July 10.
Britain's foreign intelligence services had no doubt Syria owned
"vast stockpiles" of such weapons, including mustard gas, sarin,
ricin and VX, the deadliest nerve agent, parliament's Intelligence
and Security Committee (ISC) said in its report, according to Haaretz.
Last month, the United States said Assad's forces had used the nerve
agent sarin on a small scale multiple times against opposition
fighters, an assessment with which the British government said
it agreed.
On Tuesday, Russian's UN envoy reported that Russian scientific
analysis had indicated that Syrian rebels had also used sarin in an
attack on the city of Aleppo in March. On Wednesday, the opposition
Syrian National Coalition denied this report.
The committee said the SIS had told them that "the most worrying
point about our intelligence on Syria's attitude to chemical weapons
is how low a threshold they have for its use."
The report also said that Britain's spy chiefs believed al-Qaeda groups
and individual militants who have gained expertise and experience in
Syria posed the biggest emerging threat to the West.
"Large numbers of radicalized individuals have been attracted to
the country, including significant numbers from the UK and Europe,"
it said.
Last week, Britain's top counter-terrorism official said the conflict
in Syria had brought large numbers of al-Qaeda fighters close to
Europe for the first time.
So far, chief UN chemical weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom's team has
not traveled to Syria because of diplomatic wrangling over the scope
of access he would have there.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants Sellstrom to have unfettered
access to investigate all credible alleged chemical attacks while
Assad's government wants the UN experts to confine their investigation
to the March 19 incident. That disagreement has caused a deadlock
in talks between the United Nations and Syria on access for the
inspection team.
Syrian UN Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari on Monday said his government has
invited Sellstrom and UN disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus
to discuss allegations of banned arms use in Syria's two-year civil
war but suggested it would not compromise on access.
The senior Western diplomat said Sellstrom and Kane were expected to
accept the invitation and travel to Damascus soon to discuss ways of
breaking the deadlock.