U.S. doubts chemical weapons use in Syria
Officials say attack on village might have involved tear gas
WASHINGTON – The U.S. has strong indications that chemical weapons were not used in the attack in Syria’s Aleppo province on Tuesday, a U.S. administration official said Thursday.
While officials won’t entirely rule out the possibility, the official said that additional intelligence-gathering in recent days has led the U.S. to believe more strongly that it was not a weaponized chemical attack. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter because it involved intelligence gathering and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. and allies have been looking into allegations by the Syrian regime that rebels carried out a chemical weapons attack on a village in northern Aleppo province. The rebels have blamed regime forces.
U.S. officials said they were able to determine that an attack did take place in that area, but did not rule out the possibility that some type of nonlethal chemical – which could include riot control or tear gas-type materials – might have been used.
Syria is widely believed to have a large stockpile of chemical weapons. And there are fears President Bashar Assad would use those weapons against his people in the ongoing civil war and also concerns that al-Qaida-linked rebels might obtain them.
The United Nations announced Thursday that it would investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria, which would amount to a crime against humanity.
“My announcement should serve as an unequivocal reminder that the use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said. “The international community needs full assurance that chemical weapons stockpiles are verifiably safeguarded.”