Has Syria become a chemical war? Russia accuses rebels of using 'toxic' weapons in attack that left 25 dead

  • Russia's Foreign Ministry said use of chemical weapons was alarming
  • Syrian government and rebels blame each other for attack near Aleppo
  • Anti-chemical weapons body OPCW says it is monitoring situation closely

By Harriet Arkell

PUBLISHED: 09:56 EST, 19 March 2013 | UPDATED: 12:46 EST, 19 March 2013


Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons to kill 16 people in an attack on a rural area near Aleppo today, calling it an extremely alarming and dangerous development.

A spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said: 'A case of the use of chemical weapons by the armed opposition was recorded early in the morning of March 19 in Aleppo province.

'We are very seriously concerned by the fact that weapons of mass destruction are falling into the hands of the rebels, which further worsens the situation in Syria and elevates the confrontation in the country to a new level.'

Scroll down for video

Syrians carry an injured man from a building that was hit by a Syrian forces airstrike in Aleppo today

Syrians carry an injured man from a building that was hit by a Syrian forces airstrike in Aleppo today

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad's government and rebels blamed each other for launching a deadly chemical attack which, if confirmed, would be the first use of such weapons in the two-year conflict.

Today the Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoabi insisted that the country's armed forces would never use internationally banned weapons, after the government and rebels argued over who was behind what both sides said was a chemical weapon attack near Aleppo.

Speaking at a televised news conference, Mr Zoabi said: 'Syria's army leadership has stressed this before and we say it again, if we had chemical weapons we would never use them due to moral, humanitarian and political reasons.

 

More...

'Our armed forces absolutely could not use, not now, nor at any time, nor in the past, any weapon banned by international law.'

Britain said it was aware of such reports and said if they were true, it would 'demand a serious response' from the international community.

A statement from the Foreign Office said: 'We’re aware of today’s press reports alleging that a chemical weapon was fired in the north of Syria and are looking into them.

A boy, affected in what the government said was a chemical weapons attack, is treated at a hospital in Aleppo today

A boy, affected in what the government said was a chemical weapons attack, is treated at a hospital in Aleppo

Syrian residents inspect houses destroyed by Syrian forces in the al-Marieh area of Aleppo province

Syrian residents inspect houses destroyed by Syrian forces in the al-Marieh area of Aleppo province

'The use of chemical weapons would be abhorrent and universally condemned. The UK is clear that the use or proliferation of chemical weapons would demand a serious response from the international community and would force us to revisit our approach so far.'

Meanwhile an international anti-chemical weapons body said it had no independent information about any use of such arms in Syria, but said it was 'closely monitoring' the situation.

Ahmet Uzumcu, director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said it would look at media reports about what had happened and 'try to identify the symptoms which may be detected' in order to make an assessment.

Residents and medics transport a Syrian Army soldier, wounded in what they said was a chemical attack near Aleppo, to hospital today

Residents and medics transport a Syrian Army soldier, wounded in what they said was a chemical attack near Aleppo, to hospital today

Mr Uzumcu told reporters: 'I don't think we know more than you do at the moment. Of course we have seen those reports and we are closely monitoring the situation.'

Addressing a seminar held by the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, he earlier said reports that Syria had large stockpiles of such arms was a 'major source of concern'.

The OPCW, the Hague-based organisation founded to oversee a ban on the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons, has 188 member nations, but has struggled to bring on board countries in the Middle East.

Because it has not signed the chemical weapons ban treaty and the United Nations has not intervened, Syria is under no international obligation to declare its chemical weapons, give them up or allow inspectors to monitor them.

Mr Uzumcu said he would not want to send experts to a conflict zone.

A man wounded in the alleged chemical weapons attack is treated at a hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo

A man wounded in the alleged chemical weapons attack is treated at a hospital in the Syrian city of Aleppo

 
 
Add your comments

Comments (27)

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

Tony Blair wants to send British Troops into Syria, my guess is he is going to send Euan Blair to lead the vanguard, leading by example those families with men in the forces......No.....You mean he is a using traitorous hypocrite who'd sell british forces out to f oreign interests???? Shocking

Click to rate     Rating   (0)

Report abuse

False flag.

Click to rate     Rating   1

Report abuse

Did you supply these Cameron?

Click to rate     Rating   (0)

Report abuse

The benefit of gagging the press will be that they will not be allowed to publish stories that cannot be backed up...no more US UK lies about countries will every hit the press again no more false flag jobs no more PMs going to war on a ego trip

Click to rate     Rating   (0)

Report abuse

What happened to the supposed 'red line' of that Obama stated if crossed (by use of chemical weapons) would provoke huge retaliation?

Click to rate     Rating   12

Report abuse

Not that I think any of us should be getting involved here but this is clearly an attempt by Russia and the Syrian government to stop the UK and France from going ahead with their plans to send the rebels arms.

Click to rate     Rating   7

Report abuse

Probably supplied by the same guys who supplied gas to Saddam Hussein that was used against the Kurds. That gas came from the US courtesy ot Rumsfeld, when they armed Saddam and talked him into attacking Iran, and in the end, see what happens when you do business with the West. Kadafi was another one who danced with Blair and see where that got him. And there's Osama Bin Laden who worked for and got paid by the CIA to oust the Russians out of Afghanistan, we sure thanked him for his effort to contain the Soviets. Note how none of these guys are brought back to the Hague to stand trial. Because they know too much, they are executed on the spot. I wouldn't trust any western media they work hand in hand with the government, who have a history of making stuff up to incite a war. Gulf of Tonkin, WMD's in Iraq and Libya, Noriega running drugs in Panama. How many innocent civilians were killed there so the they could keep the Panama Canal?

Click to rate     Rating   15

Report abuse

Russia and the truth do not go hand in hand.

Click to rate     Rating   20

Report abuse

Well if Russia said it then it must be true. The Russians have never let the truth get in the way of a good piece of propaganda.

Click to rate     Rating   17

Report abuse

Russia accusing Syria? They're usually sending arms to them and probably the chemicals!

Click to rate     Rating   21

Report abuse

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

You have 1000 characters left.
Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.
For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.
Terms