British scientists 'find evidence of Syrian chemical attack'
A secret British operation has smuggled out a soil sample which provides the first forensic evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, it was reported last night.
A girl, injured in what the
government said was a chemical weapons attack, is treated at a hospital in the
Syrian city of Aleppo last month. Photo:
REUTERS
Government scientists working at the Ministry of
Defence's research facility at Porton Down, Wiltshere, found traces of "some
kind of chemical weapon" after performing tests, according to The Times.
Syria has one of the world's
largest stockpiles of chemical weapons and the US has consistently warned that
their use would be "a red line" that could trigger military intervention.
If proven the weapons were used by the regime, the new tests will add to
growing pressure for the West to intervene or at least begin arming the Syrian
rebels
The tests at Porton Down reportedly concluded that the chemical traces were from a weapon rather than gas sometimes used by the Syrian security forces to put down protests.
"There have been some reports that it was just a strong riot-control agent but that is not the case - it's something else although it can't definitively be said to be sarin nerve agent," one source told the newspaper.
The sample was reportedly smuggled out of Syria in a mission involving MI6 last month.
It was not clear whether the sample was from Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where more than 20 people were alleged to have been killed in a chemical attack last month.
Both the Syrian regime and rebel groups accused the other side of using chemical weapons but definitive evidence has not yet emerged to support either claim, or even to prove that chemical weapons were used at all.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the reported tests at Porton Down.
The fighting in Syria continued yesterday as government troops backed by aircraft struggled to take control over a series of strategic hilltop villages near the Lebanese border.
The tests at Porton Down reportedly concluded that the chemical traces were from a weapon rather than gas sometimes used by the Syrian security forces to put down protests.
"There have been some reports that it was just a strong riot-control agent but that is not the case - it's something else although it can't definitively be said to be sarin nerve agent," one source told the newspaper.
The sample was reportedly smuggled out of Syria in a mission involving MI6 last month.
It was not clear whether the sample was from Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where more than 20 people were alleged to have been killed in a chemical attack last month.
Both the Syrian regime and rebel groups accused the other side of using chemical weapons but definitive evidence has not yet emerged to support either claim, or even to prove that chemical weapons were used at all.
The Ministry of Defence declined to comment on the reported tests at Porton Down.
The fighting in Syria continued yesterday as government troops backed by aircraft struggled to take control over a series of strategic hilltop villages near the Lebanese border.
This is pissing me off!!!!!
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