Syria says expects US-led assault at any moment, vowing to hit back
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Syria expects a military attack “at any moment” and is ready to retaliate, an official said yesterday, hours after UN experts probing a suspected gas attack blamed on the government quit the country.
The departure of the inspectors has opened a window for a possible US-led strike after US President Barack Obama on Friday gave his clearest indication yet that a military intervention was imminent.
“We are expecting an attack at any moment. We are ready to retaliate at any moment,” the security official said.
The 13 UN inspectors, led by Ake Sellstrom, left their Damascus hotel in a convoy before dawn and crossed into Lebanon a few hours later. They are due to report back to United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and detail their conclusions on whether a poison gas attack took place in Damascus suburbs on August 21, based on samples collected on-site.
Obama’s administration says it has no need to wait for the results of the probe, claiming its intelligence gives firm evidence Syrian troops launched a chemical onslaught that killed 1,429 people, including 426 children.
However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, one of the main groups monitoring casualties in Syria, said yesterday it has only been able to confirm 502 deaths, identifying victims by name. Its list is based on interviews with hospital officials and activists in the affected areas, said Rami Abdel-Rahman, the head of the Observatory. It urged the US to release the information its death toll is based on.
Obama said on Friday: “We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale.”
He said he was looking at a “wide range of options” but had ruled out “boots on the ground” or a “long-term campaign.”
“We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act,” he said, while stressing no final decision had been taken on unleashing military strikes against Bashar Assad’s government.
Syria has denied responsibility for the alleged incident, pointing the finger of blame at “terrorists” — its term for rebels ranged against Assad’s forces.
In Damascus, the mood was heavy with fear, and security forces were making preparations for air strikes, pulling soldiers back from potential targets.
Residents were seen stocking up with fuel for generators in case utilities are knocked out.
Bombardments could be heard in distant suburbs.
The United States, faced with an impasse at the UN Security Council and the British parliament’s shock vote Thursday, has been looking elsewhere for international partners.
French President Francois Hollande said he and Obama agreed that the international community should “send a strong message.” And Turkey has demanded a sustained campaign to topple Assad.
Five US destroyers carrying hundreds of cruise missiles are believed to be in the eastern Mediterranean.
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