Stockpiles of chemical weapons in Syria worry the Americans
The United States is working with several other Middle Eastern countries to prevent chemical weapons held by the Assad regime from falling into the wrong hands, a US official told reporters.
The US and its allies fear that the collapse of the Syrian army and other security forces, as well as the chaos engulfing the country, could allow terrorist groups to seize dangerous weapons held by the Assad regime.
The Assad regime had used chemical weapons against Syrian civilians in 2013, violating the “red line” President Obama had set a year earlier when discussing what would trigger US military intervention.
As Syrian rebels headed towards Damascus on Saturday, they issued a statement stressing that they were not interested in the Assad regime's chemical weapons.
(AmBar/Source: Agence/Photo: DPA/Anadolu/Emin Sansar)