Israel Matzav

Report: Assad used chemical weapons again

Do you think that quiet, genteel man who was interviewed by Charlie Rose earlier this week could use chemical weapons? I think he could, and the Times of Israel is reporting that he may have done it again on Thursday.

Syrian rebels claim that the army of President Bashar Assad again used poison gas in an attack on rebel forces in the Damascus area Thursday, an Israel Radio report said. The report was based on rebel sources, who said the attack took place in the Jobar neighborhood of the capital. The rebel sources said they could not tell what kind of chemical weaponry had been used, but that it was a poison gas of some kind, and was causing injuries, including breathing difficulties.

Footage posted to YouTube, and broadcast on Al Arabiya TV, showed a young man having trouble breathing, and receiving medical treatment. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The news broke amid word that a United Nations investigative team has amassed a “wealth” of evidence indicating that Syrian President Bashar Assad was responsible for the chemical attack that took place on August 21, killing as many 1,400 people.

Foreign Policy magazine reported that the investigators will present their findings on Monday to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and will offer strong circumstantial evidence that government forces were responsible for the deadly attack. The report, quoting an unnamed senior Western official, is based on the team’s examination of spent rocket casings, ammunition, and soil, blood, and urine samples. It will stop short of directly accusing Assad of perpetrating the attack on his own people.

 Well, if the world isn't going to do anything about it, why shouldn't he do it again?

Labels: Bashar al-Assad, chemical weapons, Syria

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:35 PM