Amid reports of American preparations for a military operation in Syria, the war-torn country's information minister warned Saturday that that attacking his country would have dangerous consequences. "A mass of flames will ignite the Middle East," Omran al-Zoubi said in a television interview, adding that such an attack will not be a "picnic."
The minister conveyed a stern message from the regime in
Damascus: "The American pressure will not help, it is a waste of time, and
Syria will not withdraw from its fight against terror."
The minister further said that "the use of the Syrian
opposition's of chemical weapons shows their incompetence and confusion."
According to him, the regime has proof that the rebels made use of chemical
weapons.
Also on Saturday, Syrian National Coalition President Ahmad
Jarba accused Bashar Assad of massacring thousands of civilians and called on
the international community to intervene immediately to "stop" the
Syrian president.
Speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey on
Saturday Jarba addressed the alleged chemical attack by Assad's forces on rebel
strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus this week. "Assad killed 2,000
Syrians, mostly women and children. Everyone must take part in stopping the massacre
carried out by Assad, otherwise you are supporting, directly or indirectly, the
slaughter of Syria's citizens."
The opposition leader leveled harsh criticism at Russia and
China for "taking the UN Security Council hostage." Moscow and
Beijing prevented an official investigation of the UNSC in Syria.
Jarba rejected the Assad regime's claim that rebel forces
were using chemical weapons, calling it a "desperate attempt to divert
attention from the ongoing crimes against the Syrian people."
"Syria has a regime that imposes terror on its citizens
and supports terror, together with its allies in Iran, which cooperates with
Hezbollah in the killing of Syrian civilians," he told reporters.
"We are all in shock by the information of the chemical
slaughter that the Assad regime launched against its own citizens." Free Syria Army Chief of Staff General Salim Idris denied the claims of chemical weapons use by the rebels. "We have proof that the Syrian regime is involved in the criminal actions in the outskirts of Damascus," he said during the press conference.
"The chemical
attack of the regime in the outskirts of Damascus is a response to the attack
on the convoy of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Eid al-Fitr," he added.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders said some 355 people who
showed "neurotoxic symptoms" died following the suspected chemical
weapons attack this week near Syria's capital.
The Paris-based humanitarian aid group said Saturday that
three hospitals it supports in the Damascus region reported receiving roughly
3,600 patients who showed such symptoms over less than three hours on Wednesday
morning.
A debate has ensued about who was behind the alleged gas
attack on rebel-held Damascus suburbs that activists previously said killed
more than 130 people. The attack has spurred demands for an independent
investigation and renewed talk of potential international military action, if
chemical weapons were indeed used.
Anti-government activists accuse the Syrian government of
carrying out the toxic gas attack on the eastern suburbs of Damascus and have
reported death tolls ranging from 136 to 1,300.
US President Barack Obama convened his top national security
advisers Saturday morning to discuss the alleged chemical weapons attack in
Syria, a White House official said, amid indications that US military assets
are being positioned for a possible response.
"We have a range of options available, and we are going
to act very deliberately so that we’re making decisions consistent with our
national interest, as well as our assessment of what can advance our objectives
in Syria," the official said.
The Pentagon has dispatched into the eastern Mediterranean a
fourth warship armed with ballistic missiles capable of striking Syrian
targets, CBS News reported Saturday.
US Navy ships are capable of a variety of military action,
including launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, as they did against Libya in 2011
as part of an international action that led to the overthrow of the Libyan
government, said CBS News, whose national security correspondent David Martin
reported Friday that the Pentagon is making the initial preparations for a
cruise-missile attack on Syrian government forces.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters traveling with
him to Asia early Saturday that the Defense Department "has a
responsibility to provide the president with options for contingencies, and
that requires positioning our forces, positioning our assets, to be able to
carry out different options — whatever options the president might choose."
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