‘Strong signs’ Syria used chemical weapons: US official
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The United States is increasingly convinced that the Syrian regime was behind a major chemical weapons attack last week and Washington is considering possible military action, an official said Monday.
“There are strong signs pointing in the direction of chemical weapons use” by the Syrian regime, the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters travelling with US defence secretary Chuck Hagel.
“Our confidence is growing that this was in fact an episode involving the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime,” the official said.
“The administration is considering its response options in consultation with our international partners.”
Hagel planned to speak to his British and French counterparts soon to discuss the crisis, the official said.
At a press conference earlier in Jakarta, Hagel reiterated that any action on Syria would be taken in cooperation with international partners and with a legal basis.
“If there’s any action taken, it will be in concert with the international community and within the framework of legal justification,” Hagel said after talks with the Indonesian defence minister.
The US official said that President Bashar al-Assad’s treatment of UN inspectors looking into allegations of a chemical weapons attack represented “classic delaying tactics.”
“As time goes on, it’s harder and harder to collect, examine and analyse information to reach a conclusion about chemical weapons,” the official said.
UN inspectors on the ground in Syria were later shot at as they were heading to the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack.
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