http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/may/6/syrian-rebels-used-sarin-nerve-gas-not-assads-regi/
Testimony from victims strongly suggests it was the rebels, not the Syrian government, that used Sarin nerve gas during a recent incident in the revolution-wracked nation, a senior U.N. diplomat said Monday.
Carla del Ponte, a member of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told Swiss TV there were “strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof,” that rebels seeking to oust Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad had used the nerve agent.
But she said her panel had not yet seen any evidence of Syrian government forces using chemical weapons, according to the BBC, but she added that more investigation was needed.
Damascus has recently facing growing Western accusations that its forces used such weapons, which President Obama has described as crossing a red line. But Ms. del Ponte’s remarks may serve to shift the focus of international concern.
Ms. del Ponte, who in 1999 was appointed to head the U.N. was crimes tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, has sometimes been a controversial figure. She was removed from her Rwanda post by the U.N. Security Council in 2003, but she continued as the chief prosecutor for the Yugoslav tribunal until 2008.
Ms. del Ponte, a former Swiss prosecutor and attorney general, told Swiss TV: “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals. According to their report of last week, which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.”
She gave no further details, the BBC said.
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria was established in August 2011 to examine alleged violations of human rights in the Syrian conflict which started in March that year.
It is due to issue its next report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in June.
Rebel Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Almokdad denied that rebels had use chemical weapons.
“In any case, we don’t have the mechanism to launch these kinds of weapons, which would need missiles that can carry chemical warheads, and we in the FSA do not possess these kind of capabilities,” Mr. Almokdad told CNN.
“More importantly, we do not aspire to have (chemical weapons) because we view our battle with the regime as a battle for the establishment of a free democratic state. … We want to build a free democratic state that recognizes and abides by all international accords and agreements — and chemical and biological warfare is something forbidden legally and internationally.”
Replies
Do we have any additional facts other than what is being reported by CNN? It is evident that chemical agents were used and we need to destroy all chemical weapons in Syria. This is NOT the first incident in which the Syrian's have used them.
Glenn Beck was saying on the radio this morning he thought the rebels were responsible. His reasoning was why would Assad kill a 100 people and risk war with the U.S. and others. If he was going to cross the red line wouldn't you think he would make it worth while and gas thousands? But, if the rebels gassed the 100 they would bring down the hammer on Assad which would certainly be to their advantage. And we need to remember, a good portion of the rebels are either Al Qidia or sympathizers. I would add: it makes me think even more Glenn may will be right when right out of the chute John Kerry is blaming Assad. We need to keep our eyes open and look for all the possibilities on this.
Although I agree it is not our war, there are resources in place to destroy these weapons before they are used again. When we extracted all the chemical weapons from Okinawa in 1973 and took them to Johnson Island, as a young man, I thought that would be the end to them. I learned in my later years that these chemical agents were those produced during WW II by the US and did not include those from Europe, Mid East or Central America.
As for the name, since many did not like my call sign from the service "Whitee", I elected to use Steve.
Smile.
Best Wishes
Steve
I agree that it would be more to the rebel's advantage to use the chemical weapons and blame it on Assad. It would be easier for the rebels to defeat Assad with international help. I don't trust what Kerry says. I think the rebels are more dangerous to us than Assad is.
O will start it here.
JUST LOOK AT THE RING OBAMA WHERES ( I BELIEVE IT SAYS THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD ALIA ) WHAT SIDE IS HE ON ?
A couple of questiona.
Who developed Sarin? Was it a part of the Chemical weapons that Saddam passed on out of Iraq? Was it part of the WMD that Saddam ditched when he tried to show his skirt was cleab?? The question was raised due to the amount of Chemical carriers found abandoned in Iraq.
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