President vows to defend Syria as West lays out case for intervention
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Syrian President Bashar Assad yesterday vowed to defend his country from attack as the United States and Britain laid out their case for military strikes against Damascus over a suspected poisonous gas attack.
British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament yesterday he was convinced the Syrian regime was behind the chemical weapons attack, but admitted there was no “100-percent certainty.”
UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for the West to give peace a chance, saying his inspectors would report back to him by tomorrow on their investigation into the alleged use of internationally banned chemical weapons in the attack that horrified the world.
The military build-up continued in the Mediterranean as Western powers appeared poised to launch military action against Assad’s government although US President Barack Obama said he has yet to make a decision.
Cameron, facing an uphill battle to win parliamentary support for any intervention, said what was at stake was “one of the most abhorrent uses of chemical weapons in a century.”
He said the government insisted military action would be allowed under international law as “humanitarian intervention.”
He added that Britain would not act if it faced major opposition at the UN’s top security body.
“I think it would be unthinkable to proceed if there is overwhelming opposition in the Security Council,” he said.
‘In position to respond’
France said its military is preparing for a possible operation in Syria — but President Francois Hollande stopped short of announcing armed intervention. He does not need parliamentary approval for military action lasting less than four months.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said yesterday: “The armed forces have been put in position to respond” if the president commits French forces to an international intervention in Syria.
Ban said the UN experts — on a third day of inspections of alleged attack sites near Damascus — would leave Syria by tomorrow and report to him immediately.
He appealed to divided powers to work together to head off military action against Syria, where the UN says over 100,000 people have been killed and almost three million made homeless since the uprising against Assad first began in March 2011.
With any US-led missile strike unlikely to have UN Security Council backing, Russia and Iran again warned against any Western intervention, saying it could set off a wider conflict.
The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed the Security Council must study the weapons report and work on finding a diplomatic settlement.
Assad remained defiant in the face of the Western threats.
“Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression,” state television cited him as telling a delegation of Yemeni politicians.
Assad said that any Western attack would result in victory for the Syrian people.
His government has denied using chemical weapons and blamed terrorist rebels.
The mood among Damascus residents is fearful, while security forces are preparing for possible air attacks by pulling back soldiers from potential targets and introducing tougher controls at roadblocks and hospitals.
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