Syria: World Leaders Blame Assad For Attack

UK Pledges Extra £52m In Syria Aid

Updated: 2:03pm UK, Friday 06 September 2013

British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced an additional £52m in aid to help the estimated two million refugees who have fled the civil war in Syria.

He chaired a humanitarian meeting at the G20 summit in St Petersburg this morning and urged fellow leaders to dig deep to meet the UN's appeal for £900m for Syria and £1.9bn for neighbouring countries this year.

"This is a moral imperative. This is the big refugee crisis of our time. As the (UN) Secretary General has made clear, seven million people are in dire need and chemical weapons attacks have made this even more acute," he told them.

"A Syrian becomes a refugee every 15 seconds while we sit here at this conference. That is 5,000 fleeing their homes and becoming homeless while we are at this G20 summit."

About third of Syria's pre-war 20.8 million population has fled over the border or have been forced from their homes during the popular uprising against President Bashar al Assad's regime which is now in its third year, UN refugee agency data showed.

"This is a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions in recent history," UN chief Ban Ki-moon said.

The extra £52m brings Britain's total aid contribution to the Syria crisis to £400m.

David Cameron has ruled out any prospect of agreement at the summit, saying that Russian president Vladimir Putin remains "miles away" from the truth of Mr Assad's use of chemical weapons on his own people.

Meanwhile the US has ordered all non-essential embassy staff and other American citizens to leave Lebanon due to security concerns as the debate over military action continues.

"The Department of State drew down non-emergency personnel and family members from Embassy Beirut due to threats to US Mission facilities and personnel," a statement on the Beirut embassy's website said.

It also reducing its diplomatic presence in Adana in southern Turkey.

Earlier Syria's state news agency SANA said the country's head of parliament has urged the US Congress to vote against military action targeting its regime.

"We urge you not to take reckless measures as you have the power to steer the United States from the path of war to that of diplomacy," it quoted parliament chief Jihad al Lahham.

Relations among world leaders have become heated over possible US military action against President Assad's regime.

The US and Russia have been unable to agree on a way forward and President Barack Obama said he had "hit a wall" with Mr Putin, who has warned the use of force without UN approval would be "aggression" and a violation of international law.

Mr Cameron confirmed that deep divisions were voiced at last night's four-hour official dinner and said that - despite evidence of nerve gas sarin found by US and UK scientists - Mr Putin is still far from accepting the regime's responsibility for the August 21 attack which killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb.

"This G20 was never going to reach conclusions on Syria," said the Prime Minister. "The divisions are too great."

Following a 35-minute face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin in the early hours of Friday, Mr Cameron said: "He says to me that he would like to see further evidence of regime culpability and we will go on providing evidence of regime culpability, as will the Americans and others, but I think it will take a lot to change his mind."

White House official Ben Rhodes said Russia did not have "anything to add" to the political debate and criticised the country for "refusing to take action".

The Interfax news agency reported on Friday that Russia was sending a third landing ship towards Syria.

Citing a source at navy headquarters, it said the ship left the Black Sea port of Sevastopol for the Eastern Mediterranean with "special cargo".

Russia, a staunch ally of Syria, also reportedly dismissed Britain as a "small island no one pays any attention to" as relations boiled over at the summit.

The alleged comments, thought to include a reference to Soviet oligarchs "buying Chelsea" and attributed to President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov, were later denied by Russian officials.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told a news conference in New York that Russia has held the UN Security Council "hostage" over Syria, and Mr Obama's administration did not expect that to end.

"Even in the wake of the flagrant shattering of the international norm against chemical weapons use, Russia continues to hold the council hostage and shirk its international responsibilities," she said.

"What we have learned, what the Syrian people have learned, is that the Security Council the world needs to deal with this crisis is not the Security Council we have."

The summit was tasked with fostering strong, sustainable growth through encouraging long-term investment among nations, but has been overshadowed by the Syria crisis.

On Thursday, the Syrian government wrote to the US Congress urging its members not to support the use of military force.

The letter, seen by Sky News, asked Congress to "communicate with us through civilised dialogue rather than the language of fire and blood".

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Strong Earthquake Strikes Guatemala

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has hit Guatemala's Pacific coastline, US seismologists say.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck around three miles (6km) south of Pajapita, at a depth of 42 miles (68km).

Guatemala's fire department issued a statement saying a few poorly-built homes were destroyed in the town of Patzicia, located between the epicentre and the capital.

The quake was felt strongly in Guatemala City, the capital, and caused blackouts in some areas, but authorities have not reported any immediate injuries or damage.

"People living in Guatemala City's tall buildings were panicked," said Eddy Sanchez, director of Guatemala's National Institute of Seismology.             

The Central American nation's natural disaster agency said a major highway was blocked by a landslide.

The quake was also reportedly felt in neighbouring Mexico and El Salvador, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in both countries.

The tremor was one of the strongest in Guatemala since a 7.4-magnitude earthquake last November killed 44 people in the west of the country. It was the strongest in 36 years and left thousands of people homeless and without electricity or water.

More follows...

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Gibraltar 'Torturer' Photos: Briton Held

A British man has been arrested in Madrid accused of posting pictures online of Spanish police officers at the Gibraltar border and encouraging people to demonstrate outside their homes.

He was held this morning after pictures and comments describing law enforcement staff at the frontier in La Linea as "torturers and killers" were posted on a website and shared via social media, the country's Guardia Civil said.

It comes amid heightened tensions at the border between the British Overseas Territory and Spain.

Visitors have complained of stringent checks and long waits at the crossing

The Guardia Civil has reported officers being pelted with stones by motorcyclists held up in hours of delays at the border after stringent checks were introduced during the diplomatic row with Britain and Gibraltar.

The Briton, who lives in Spain, has only been identified by the initials EE and was arrested by Guardia Civil officers from Algeciras, near Gibraltar, at a municipal centre in the capital.

He is being held in custody while items found in a rucksack are analysed, a spokesman said.

Spanish fishermen have accused Gibraltar of blocking them

"The investigation began when agents discovered a web page in which photographs of officers of the Guardia Civil, national police, and the customs agency were published," the spokesman added.

"In this publication they were called 'torturers and killers' and citizens were encouraged to carry out demonstrations against the agents at their homes.

"In addition, these comments were reiterated via different social networks and digital media.

A screen-grabbed image of the website

"Investigators located the IP address of the computer from where the detained person made the commentaries, situating it at a location in Madrid.

"Establishing the chance to detain this person, he was held in a Madrid municipal social centre, with a rucksack seized - containing information that is being analysed."

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the arrest of a British national and is providing consular assistance.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Crisis Dominates End Of G20 Summit

Syria: Cameron Pushes G20 For Aid

Updated: 10:16pm UK, Thursday 05 September 2013

David Cameron has said Britain will lead the humanitarian response in Syria, despite MPs having ruled out military intervention.

Speaking at the G20 summit in Russia, at which the Syrian crisis is featuring heavily, the Prime Minister said scientists at Porton Down, Wiltshire, had found further evidence of a deadly sarin gas attack in Damascus last month.

He holds Bashar al Assad's regime responsible for the assault but said he had "absolutely no regrets" after failing to win support from MPs for a strike against the Syrian government.

Mr Cameron told Sky News he had made a "strong and principled stand against the use of chemical weapons" and would push world leaders to agree to more aid for the millions of people left homeless by the civil war.

"I believe in democracy and you have to respect the will of the House of Commons," he said.

"But that doesn't stop us leading the argument about why chemical weapons are wrong and shouldn't be used, about how we get a peace process going in Syria and about the vital issue of humanitarian aid.

"Every 15 seconds there is another Syrian refugee. Millions of people are homeless and they need our help. Britain will be leading the charge at this summit to make sure they get the help they need."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is attending the G20 summit with UN Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, urged world leaders to agree to an international peace conference to resolve the Syrian crisis.

"There is no military solution," he said. "Only a political solution can bring peace and end this bloodshed."

However, international tensions have dominated the start of the summit in St Petersburg.

US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin smiled and shook hands but relations between the two countries are strained.

Mr Obama said he had "hit a wall" with Mr Putin, who warned the use of force without UN approval would be an "aggression" and a violation of international law.

The Russian president has suggested he would "not exclude" supporting a UN resolution on the use of force in Syria, if Mr Assad is proven to have used chemical weapons against his own people.

However, Mr Cameron said there was little sign of Russia changing its position.

"I haven't seen much evidence of that but I think it is very important the world responds to this appalling attack," he said.

"The best way of doing this is of course to have a UN resolution, a condemnation of Syria and a backing for all necessary measures to be taken.

"But I'm also clear that when America and many others in the world draw a red line over chemical weapons use, if nothing follows then that will be very bad for our world."

The Prime Minister also said Mr Obama had been "very understanding" about the Commons vote and insisted the "special relationship" between Britain and America "is as strong today as it was a week ago or two weeks ago".

Meanwhile, the military presence around Syria is growing, with the US Navy's top admiral insisting four destroyers are "fully ready" for action.

The Syrian government has written to US Congress, pleading with members not to support the use of military force, which it claims could trigger a "bloody, destructive, catastrophic" conflict.

It came as a car bomb exploded in Damascus, killing four people and injuring six others, while 11 people died in fighting in Taftanaz, around 200 miles north of the capital.

Fighting between troops and rebel fighters continued in the regime-held Christian village of Maaloula for a second day.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Berezovsky Estate: Daughter Applies To Court

One of the daughters of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has denied that her father was millions of pounds in debt when he died.

Ekaterina Berezovskaya has gone to the High Court asking to be allowed to become an executor of his estate.

Her plea comes amid questions as to whether or not there is any money in the estate to distribute.

Judge Mr Justice Morgan said reports from receivers who had analysed Mr Berezovsky's financial affairs suggested there was not, and that he had left debts that could amount to more than £300m.

"The dispute is whether the estate is solvent or insolvent," said the judge. "Information from receivers points to insolvency.

Berezovsky had earlier lost a court battle against Roman Abramovitch

"The receivers have told me a great deal about what they have uncovered."

The judge said he had seen detail of alleged debts and said the level of insolvency could be as high as £309m.

However, Ms Berezovskaya, questioned the receivers' analysis.

Anthony Trace QC, for Ms Berezovskaya, said the judge was not in a position to decide whether Mr Berezovsky's estate was insolvent.

He said there were a "number of things" receivers had not done and questioned the adequacy of their investigation.

Mr Trace said Ms Berezovskaya had been appointed executor by her father who had "died in tragic and mysterious circumstances".

The judge is being asked to decide whether Ms Berezovskaya should be made a temporary administrator of her father's estate pending further litigation.

Mr Berezovsky, 67, was found dead at his home in Ascot, Berkshire in March.

He was reportedly found on a bathroom floor with a ligature around his neck.

10.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

G20 Summit: Syria Tensions Set To Dominate

US Draft Resolution On Syria

Updated: 10:53pm UK, Wednesday 04 September 2013

The full text of the US draft resolution on action in Syria:

JOINT RESOLUTION

To authorize the limited and tailored use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria.

Whereas Syria is in material breach of the laws of war by having employed chemical weapons against its civilian population;

Whereas the abuses of the regime of Bashar al-Assad have included the brutal repression and war upon its own civilian population, resulting in more than 100,000 people killed in the past two years, and more than 2 million internally displaced people and Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, creating an unprecedented regional crisis and instability;

Whereas the Assad regime has the largest chemical weapons programs in the region and has demonstrated its capability and willingness to repeatedly use weapons of mass destruction against its own people, including the August 21, 2013 attack in the suburbs of Damascus in which the Assad regime murdered over 1,000 innocent people, including hundreds of children;

Whereas there is clear and compelling evidence of the direct involvement of Assad regime forces and senior officials in the planning, execution, and after-action attempts to cover-up the August 21 attack, and hide or destroy evidence of such attack;

Whereas the Arab League has declared with regards to the August 21 incident to hold the "Syrian regime responsible for this heinous crime";

Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1540 (2004) affirmed that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons constitutes a threat to international peace and security;

Whereas in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003, Congress found that Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction threatens the security of the Middle East and the national security interests of the United States;

Whereas the actions and conduct of the Assad regime are in direct contravention of Syria's legal obligations under the United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and the Geneva Protocol to the Hague Convention on the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, and also violates standards set forth in the Chemical Weapons Convention;

Whereas Syria's use of weapons of mass destruction and its conduct and actions constitute a grave threat to regional stability, world peace, and the national security interests of the United States and its allies and partners;

Whereas the objectives of the United States use of military force in connection with this authorization are to respond to the use, and deter and degrade the potential future use of weapons of mass destruction by the Syrian government;

Whereas the conflict in Syria will only be resolved through a negotiated political settlement, and Congress calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to participate urgently and constructively in the Geneva process; and

Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to use force in order to defend the national security interests of the United States:

Now, therefore, be it,

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This joint resolution may be cited as the "Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against the Government of Syria to Respond to Use of Chemical Weapons".

SECTION 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

(a) AUTHORIZATION-The President is authorized, subject to subsection (b), to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in a limited and tailored manner against legitimate military targets in Syria, only to: (1) respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction by the Syrian government in the conflict in Syria; (2) deter Syria's use of such weapons in order to protect the national security interests of the United States and to protect our allies and partners against the use of such weapons; and (3) degrade Syria's capacity to use such weapons in the future.

(b) REQUIREMENT FOR DETERMINATION THAT USE OF MILITARY FORCE IS

NECESSARY- Before exercising the authority granted in subsection (a), the President shall make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate his determination that-

(1) the United States has used all appropriate diplomatic and other peaceful means to prevent the deployment and use of weapons of mass destruction by Syria;

(2) the Syrian government has conducted one or more significant chemical weapons attacks;

(3) the use of military force is necessary to respond to the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government;

(4) it is in the core national security interest of the United States to use such military force;

(5) the United States has a military plan to achieve the specific goals of responding to the use of weapons of mass destruction by the Syrian government in the conflict in Syria, to deter Syria's use of such weapons in order to protect the national security interests of the United States and to protect our allies and partners against the use of such weapons, and to degrade Syria's capacity to use such weapons in the future; and

(6) the use of military force is consistent with and furthers the goals of the United States strategy toward Syria, including achieving a negotiated political settlement to the conflict.

(c) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS-

(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, 50 U.S.C. § 1541, et seq., the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section

5(b) of the War Powers Resolution, within the limits of the authorization established under this Section.

(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- Nothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.

SECTION 3. LIMITATION. The authority granted in section 2 does not authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Syria for the purpose of combat operations.

SECTION 4. TERMINATION OF THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

The authorization in section 2(a) shall terminate 60 days after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution, except that the President may extend, for a single period of 30 days, such authorization if -

(1) the President determines and certifies to Congress, not later than 5 days before the date of termination of the initial authorization, that the extension is necessary to fulfill the purposes of this resolution as defined by Section 2(a) due to extraordinary circumstances and for ongoing and impending military operations against Syria under section 2(a); and

(2) Congress does not enact into law, before the extension of authorization, a joint resolution disapproving the extension of the authorization for the additional 30 day period; provided that any such joint resolution shall be considered under the expedited procedures otherwise provided for concurrent resolutions of disapproval contained in section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546).

SECTION 5. SYRIA STRATEGY.

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this resolution, the President shall consult with Congress and submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an integrated United States Government strategy for achieving a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in Syria, including a comprehensive review of current and planned U.S. diplomatic, political, economic, and military policy towards Syria, including: (1) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian Supreme Military Council and other Syrian entities opposed to the government of Bashar Al-Assad that have been properly and fully vetted and share common values and interests with the United States; (2) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian political opposition, including the Syrian Opposition Coalition; (3) efforts to isolate extremist and terrorist groups in Syria to prevent their influence on the future transitional and permanent Syrian governments; (4) coordination with allies and partners; and (5) efforts to limit support from the Government of Iran and others for the Syrian regime.

SECTION 6. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING.

(a) Notification and Provision of Information. Upon his determination to use the authority set forth in section 2 of this Act, the President shall notify Congress, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of the use of such authority and shall keep Congress fully and currently informed of the use of such authority.

(b) Reports. No fewer than 10 days after the initiation of military operations under the authority provided by Section 2, and every 20 days thereafter until the completion of military operations, the President shall submit to the Congress, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a report on the status of such operations, including progress achieved toward the objectives specified in Section 2(a), the financial costs of operations to date, and an assessment of the impact of the operations on the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capabilities and intentions.

SECTION 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. The authority set forth in Section 2 of this resolution shall not constitute an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war except to the extent that it authorizes military action under the conditions, for the specific purposes, and for the limited period of time set forth in this resolution.

SECTION 5. SYRIA STRATEGY.

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this resolution, the President shall consult with Congress and submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an integrated United States Government strategy for achieving a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in Syria, including a comprehensive review of current and planned U.S. diplomatic, political, economic, and military policy towards Syria, including: (1) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian Supreme Military Council and other Syrian entities opposed to the government of Bashar Al-Assad that have been properly and fully vetted and share common values and interests with the United States; (2) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian political opposition, including the Syrian Opposition Coalition; (3) efforts to isolate extremist and terrorist groups in Syria to prevent their influence on the future transitional and permanent Syrian governments; (4) coordination with allies and partners; and (5) efforts to limit support from the Government of Iran and others for the Syrian regime.

SECTION 6. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING.

(a) Notification and Provision of Information. Upon his determination to use the authority set forth in section 2 of this Act, the President shall notify Congress, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, of the use of such authority and shall keep Congress fully and currently informed of the use of such authority.

(b) Reports. No fewer than 10 days after the initiation of military operations under the authority provided by Section 2, and every 20 days thereafter until the completion of military operations, the President shall submit to the Congress, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a report on the status of such operations, including progress achieved toward the objectives specified in Section 2(a), the financial costs of operations to date, and an assessment of the impact of the operations on the Syrian regime's chemical weapons capabilities and intentions.

SECTION 7. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. The authority set forth in Section 2 of this resolution shall not constitute an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war except to the extent that it authorizes military action under the conditions, for the specific purposes, and for the limited period of time set forth in this resolution.

10.53 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria Defector 'Exposes Assad Chemical Attack'

Syria: How Crisis Has Developed

Updated: 2:04pm UK, Tuesday 03 September 2013

:: March 2011 - Protesters stage demonstrations in Damascus and security forces in Daraa shoot dead several campaigners, leading to unrest and violence.

:: May - The Syrian military deploys tanks in a bid to quash demonstrations.

:: July 19 - The UK freezes £100m of Syrian assets.

:: August 18 - US President Barack Obama calls on Bashar al Assad to step down. The US freezes all assets of the Syrian government.

:: November 16 - The Free Syrian Army attacks a military base near Damascus.

:: February 4, 2012 - A UN Security Council resolution on Syria is rejected for a second time by Russia and China.

:: March 1 - Government troops seize the Baba Amr district of Homs after an intense battle lasting for several weeks.

:: April 12 - A UN-brokered ceasefire comes into force after fierce fighting in the country.

:: May 23 - Dozens of people, many of them women and children, die in Houla, near Homs. Foreign Secretary William Hague says they were "massacred at the hands of Syrian forces". The UN later accuses the Syrian military of committing war crimes.

:: August - Barack Obama says the use of chemical weapons against civilians would represent the crossing of a "red line".

:: March 6, 2013 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says Britain will provide opposition forces with "non-lethal equipment for the protection of civilians".

:: April-May - Britain says there is credible evidence to suggest Syrian forces have used chemical weapons in Adra, Darayya and Saraqiq and calls for an investigation by the UN.

:: April 29 - Syrian prime minister Wael Nader al Halqi survives an assassination attempt as a car bomb explodes in Damascus.

:: May 14 - Footage of a Syrian rebel commander apparently cutting out a soldier's heart is condemned by the country's National Coalition.

:: June 6 - Syrian forces, backed by Hizbollah fighters, recapture the strategic border town of Qusair.

:: June 6 - Human Rights Watch releases footage which it claims shows Syrian troops shelling school buildings.

:: July 25 - The UN says the number of people killed in the civil war has reached 100,000.

:: August 21 - An alleged chemical attack in Damascus kills 1,300 people, according to the opposition. Doctors Without Borders says 335 people died from "neurotoxic" symptoms.

:: August 25 - Foreign Secretary William Hague says a chemical attack by the Syrian government is the only "plausible explanation" for the deaths.

:: August 26 - UN inspectors brave sniper fire to gather "valuable" evidence from one site of the alleged chemical attack, as the US Secretary of State John Kerry says the Assad regime would face action over the "moral obscenity".

:: August 27 - The UK recalls Parliament to hold a vote on August 29 on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. David Cameron and Barack Obama agree there is "no doubt" the Assad regime is responsible for the alleged attack.

:: August 28 - Britain tables a draft UN resolution condemning the alleged attack and "authorising all necessary measures".

:: August 29 - David Cameron is forced to rule out military action after narrowly losing a Commons vote on the principle of intervention.

:: August 31 - President Obama says the US "should take military action" in Syria but confirms he will seek authorisation from Congress before launching any strikes against the Assad regime. He says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose".

:: September 2 - a French intelligence reports claims the Assad regime was responsible for a "massive and coordinated" chemical attack in Damascus.

:: September 3 - Israel says it has carried out a joint missile test with the US in the Mediterranean.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Obama Makes New Military Action Vow

The US has a plan to help Syria's rebels bring down the Assad regime after launching military strikes, President Obama has said.

Mr Obama said again that military action against Syria would be "limited" but suggested a strike would go further than simply punishing President Bashar al Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons.

The president said he was confident that Congress would vote in favour of military action and called for a prompt vote on the issue.

Later Secretary of State John Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the US must "stand up and act" in the face of "undeniable" evidence that Mr Assad gassed his own people.

He said: "This is not the time for armchair isolationism. This is not the time to be spectators to a slaughter."

Mr Kerry said he did not want to "take off the table" the option of US troops going into Syria, but that a ground invasion would only be possible if Syria "imploded" and there were concerns about terrorists obtaining chemical weapons.

He also urged lawmakers not to limit the scope for US strikes to a single occasion, as it emerged the military has identified sets of targets that could be hit "if necessary".

Israel fears being targeted if Syria comes under attack from Western powers

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the US should strike Syria to prevent Hizbollah and other terrorist groups from getting their hands on chemical weapons.

Washington is currently assessing whether to order sea-launched strikes against Syria, with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attempting to convince Congress of the need to intervene.

During a meeting of congressional leaders at the White House, the President said: "What we are envisioning is something limited. It is something proportional. It will degrade Assad's capabilities.

"At the same time we have a broader strategy that will allow us to upgrade the capabilities of the opposition." 

After the meeting the president received a boost when the top Republican in Congress said he would back the call for military action, and urged his colleagues to do the same.

Speaking outside the White House, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said: "This is something that the United States as a country needs to do."

Democratic Leader in Congress Nancy Pelosi said she did not expect a resolution calling for military action in Syria to be rejected. 

John Kerry's Senate speech was interrupted by anti-war protesters

United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon stopped short of opposing strikes but urged Western powers to keep within the organisation's charter when planning their next move.

"We must consider the impact of any punitive measure on efforts to prevent further bloodshed and facilitate the political resolution of the conflict," he said.

Mr Ban insisted that the bitterly-divided countries on the UN Security Council have a "collective responsibility to humankind" to unite and halt the use of chemical weapons.

Mr Obama clarified his intentions after influential senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham met with him and said they expected US military action to be "more robust" than previously thought.

Mr Graham said: "It is all in the details, but I left the meeting feeling better than I felt before about what happens the day after and that the purpose of the attack is going to be a little more robust than I thought."

Mr McCain said in an interview that Mr Obama did not reveal what weapons might be provided to the opposition in Syria or discuss in what targets might be attacked.

"There was no concrete agreement, 'OK, we got a deal,'" Mr McCain said.

A protest took place outside the American embassy in London

"Like a lot of things, the devil is in the details."

The president indicated in his meeting with the pair that the first 50-man cell of CIA-trained rebel fighters was heading for the Syrian battlefield, the New York Times reported.

The unit's deployment would be the first tangible show of support since Mr Obama announced in June that the US would begin providing the rebels with small arms.

Mr Obama's latest statement came after tensions in the Middle East were raised by Israel's unannounced missile launch in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile, Israel claimed it carried out a joint missile system test with the US after Russia's defence ministry said two ballistic "objects" were fired towards the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the sea.

Israel's defence ministry said it had tested a single Sparrow target missile, which it said was "successfully" detected and tracked by its Arrow missile-defence system.

The speaker of Syria's parliament has urged French MPs not to intervene

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon shrugged off a question on whether the launch might have been ill-timed, telling reporters Israel had to work to maintain its military edge.

"It is known that preparedness of the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) in the last week relies a lot on technological capabilities, that the defence establishment in its wider sense puts at the army's disposal.

"Research and development in the defence industry - engineers, scientists who work day and night - they know at the end of the day to put Israel in the front line of technology.

"This necessitates field trials and, accordingly, a successful trial was conducted to test our systems. And we will continue to develop and to research and to equip the IDF with the best systems in the world." 

Despite reports that Israel was claiming the launch as a joint test with America, a US Navy spokesman said no missiles had been fired from any of its ships in the Mediterranean.

Sky News has obtained a letter from the speaker of Syria's parliament, Mohammad Jihad al Lahham, to French MPs as they prepare to debate the possibility of military action.

In the letter - similar to those sent to British MPs ahead of a Commons vote - he wrote: "We are writing to you as human beings and we ask you - if you bomb us, will we not bleed?"

General Hossein Salami, a senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, warned the US against attacking Syria, claiming military action would spread the "spirit of jihad" among Muslims.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: 'Assad Regime Behind Chemical Attack'

Syrian President Bashar al Assad was behind a "massive and co-ordinated" chemical attack in Damascus, the French government has claimed.

A seven-page intelligence report sets out five points which, MPs will be told, suggest the Assad regime was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people in the Syrian capital last month.

The evidence includes satellite imagery, allegedly showing the attacks were launched from government-controlled areas, a French government source told the Reuters news agency.

Mr Assad told French newspaper Le Figaro the allegations were "illogical" and warned of "negative" repercussions for French interests if the country engaged in military action.

However, the report claimed the attack "could only have been ordered and carried out by the regime", adding: "We believe the Syrian opposition does not have the capacity to carry out an operation of such magnitude with chemical agents."

The UN is examining samples collected by weapons inspectors in Damascus

Earlier, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said MPs would be given every piece of evidence the government has, including information that has been classified until now.

MPs expected to debate the evidence on Wednesday, although a vote has been ruled out.

French President Francois Hollande can order military action without parliamentary approval, although some lawmakers have urged him to put the issue to a vote, following the lead of US President Barack Obama, who decided to seek authorisation from Congress before agreeing to missile strikes.

France is the United States' main ally in the Syrian crisis, after Britain voted against military action.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said samples of hair and blood provided by first responders after the August 21 attack tested positive for sarin, a nerve agent estimated to be 500 times more toxic than cyanide.

According to US estimates, the attack killed 1,429 people, including 426 children, although France put the figure at "at least 281".

Mr Obama says the US is "prepared to strike whenever we choose"

In other developments, Mr Obama met with Senator John McCain, his former rival for the presidency and an advocate of military intervention in Syria, for talks ahead of next week's Congress debate.

Mr McCain said a vote against the President would be "catastrophic" and would "undermine the credibility of the United States".

He spoke of an attack that would "degrade Assad's capabilities" and allow opposition fighters to "reverse momentum on the battlefield".

It came as the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and four other Navy vessels sailed into the Red Sea, in a move described by retired Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations during the 2011 strikes on Libya, as "prudent planning".

Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed US evidence of alleged chemical weapons use by the Assad regime as "absolutely unconvincing".

Children were among those caught up in last month's attack

He said the intelligence contained "nothing specific ... no geographic coordinates, no names, no proof that the tests were carried out by the professionals".

In Britain, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he could not foresee any circumstances in which the Government would return to Parliament to vote for a second time on the prospect of military action.

"We're not going to keep asking the same question of Parliament again and again," he said.

"We live in a democracy. The executive cannot act in a way which clearly is not welcome to Parliament or the British people, so we're not proposing to do so."

It came as MPs called for answers over a chemicals trade deal with Syria signed months after the bloodshed started.

The Department for Business issued licences for the export of sodium fluoride and potassium fluoride to the war-torn country in January last year before revoking them several months later.

The chemicals are capable of being used to make nerve gas such as sarin, and also have a variety of industrial uses.

The Government said no chemicals were exported before the licence was revoked in June 2012 following EU sanctions but MPs said they intend to raise the issue at Westminster.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: McCain Warns Congress Against 'No' Vote

Syria: Where Do Arab States Stand?

Updated: 9:35am UK, Monday 02 September 2013

By Zein Ja'far, Sky News Producer

As US president Barack Obama takes to Congress the question of whether or not to strike against Syria, where do Arab powers in the Middle East stand on the issue?

:: For

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf states are actively encouraging regime change in Syria and anything that can expedite that process, including potential military strikes, will be welcomed.

Saudi foreign minister Saud al Faisal has called on the international community to do all it can to stop the Syrian Government's "aggression against its own people" and blamed the regime for an alleged chemical attack in Damascus last month.

Saudi Arabia has replaced Qatar as the principle supporter of Syrian opposition forces, providing arms and funding to various groups.

The Kingdom's former ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar al Sultan, is the man believed to have been tasked with gathering international support to topple President Bashar al Assad.

Qatar was, for the first two years of the Syrian conflict, the most vocal and vociferous opponent of the Syrian Government in the region.

The former Emir and foreign minister called for Arab troops to intervene to end the violence and even opened the Syrian opposition's first embassy in the capital Doha.

But both have since stepped down and the country's overt support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group viewed with deep suspicion by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has led to a wane in its influence.

The UAE also provides support to the Syrian opposition but is unlikely to involve itself militarily as it did during the Libyan war in 2011.

:: Against

Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan.

Three of the four countries that share a border with Syria are all reluctant to back military intervention.

Lebanon's political parties are inextricably linked to its larger neighbour and the violent fall-out from the crisis in Syria has already claimed dozens of lives this year.

Armed groups in the north of the country, backed by Saudi Arabia, have been fighting alongside the Free Syrian Army while Hizbollah, supporting Syrian government troops, remains Bashar al assad's most active military ally.

More than 700,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon and the possibility of a military strike is likely see those numbers swell.

Iraq's government is also staunchly against any intervention. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is close to Iran and the fear is that a US strike could embolden al Qaeda and affiliated groups based in the country who are crossing into Syria to fight against government forces.

Publicly, Jordan has stated it is against military intervention and ruled out any launch of attacks from its own soil. Jordan's Government prefers a diplomatic solution but, as one of President Obama's closest regional allies, will not stand in the way of any strike.

It, too, faces a refugee crisis with more than half a million displaced Syrians living in the country, often in desperate conditions.

The Zaatari refugee camp, now one of the biggest in the world, is riddled with crime and violence and conditions for children, in particular, are bleak.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: US 'Has Evidence' Of Sarin Gas Use

Positions Of World Leaders On Syria

Updated: 11:01pm UK, Saturday 31 August 2013

The latest positions of key countries towards Syria after a suspected chemical attack in Damascus shocked the world.

:: United Kingdom

David Cameron has been forced to rule out British involvement in any military action after losing a Commons vote.

He has instead vowed to keep pushing for a "robust response" via international organisations like the UN.

:: United States

President Barack Obama has decided the US should take military action against Syria but will ask Congress first.

He has the authority to act on his own, but believes it is important for the country to have a debate. He plans to hold a debate and a vote after Congress returns on September 9.

Five US Navy destroyers are in the eastern Mediterranean Sea waiting for the order to attack. They are armed with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a range of  more than 1,150 miles (1,852km).

:: Russia

President Vladimir Putin urged Mr Obama to consider whether strikes would help end the violence in Syria and be worth the likely civilian casualties.

He said Mr Obama should reflect on the results of US military intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq before deciding whether to launch air strikes against Assad's regime.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that military strikes would lead to long-term destabilisation of Syria and the region.

He has spoken against any use of force without UN Security Council approval, which he said would be a "crude violation of international law".

Russia has remained a strong ally of Syria throughout the civil war.

:: China

China supports what it called the UN's "objective, impartial and professional investigation" of the alleged chemical attack.

China is sceptical of Western use of force, with Beijing's official news agency running a commentary recalling the 2003 Iraq invasion on the grounds that it possessed banned weapons - which were never found.

China joined Moscow in vetoing measures against Assad in the UN Security Council.

:: France

A defence official said the French military will commit forces to an operation in Syria if President Francois Hollande decides to do so.

Mr Hollande has stressed all options are on the table and that the attack in Damascus cannot go unpunished.

He does not need parliamentary approval for military action that lasts less than four months.

French military officials confirmed the frigate Chevalier Paul, which specialises in anti-missile capabilities, and the transport ship Dixmude are in the eastern Mediterranean.

:: Japan

Japan said it will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons "under any circumstances".

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the British vote had had no impact on his government's thinking.

"Cabinet members agreed that we don't tolerate the use of chemical weapons under any circumstances and consider that responsibility lies with the Assad government,"  Mr Suga told reporters.

"We continue to closely co-ordinate with international community," he said, adding: "We will of course provide humanitarian aid to those in a vulnerable position such as refugees."

:: Iran

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of the Iranian parliament's Committee on National Security, visited Damascus to show support for the Syrian regime.

He said a strike against Syria will "not be confined to its borders but will have repercussions in the entire region."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country will press efforts to ward off military intervention by the US and its allies, calling potential action an "open violation" of international laws.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the country's ISNA news agency that US military intervention in Syria would be "a disaster" for the Middle East. He added: "The region is like a gunpowder store and the future cannot be predicted."

:: Germany

The German government said it isn't considering joining military action against Syria and hasn't been asked by others to do so.

:: Turkey

Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu has claimed the use of chemical weapons is "evident" from video footage.

A vehement opponent of the Assad regime, Turkey has said it would join an international coalition against Syria even if the UN Security Council fails to reach consensus on the issue.

:: Italy

Italian Premier Enrico Letta said his country understands why the US and France are considering military action against Syria's regime, but said Italy cannot join in without UN backing.

:: The Netherlands

UN chemical weapons inspectors arrived in the Netherlands with samples collected from the site of the alleged gas attack in Syria..

They are to be sent to European laboratories to be checked for traces of poison gas.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in The Hague, will test blood and urine samples taken from victims as well as soil samples from affected areas.

:: United Nations

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said any notion that the departure of the chemical weapons inspection team from Syria opened a window for a US attack is "grotesque."

He said about 1,000 international and UN staff remain in Syria, and the UN is just as concerned about their welfare as it was about the inspectors.

:: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has called for "firm and serious" action against the Assad regime for the alleged gas attack.

:: Israel

The Israeli military said it has deployed an "Iron Dome" missile defence battery in the Tel Aviv area.

If the US attacks Syria, Israel fears Damascus may respond by firing missiles at Israel, a close American ally.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israelis there was "no reason to change their routines", but thousands have been standing in long queues to get government-issue gas masks.

:: Jordan

Demonstrators opposed to military intervention in Syria burned US and Israeli flags and chanted outside the American embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman.

Other protests against a Syria strike took place in Britain, France, Germany and Turkey.

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More

Syria: Assad 'Planned Gas Attack Last Summer'

By Nick Martin, Sky Correspondent

A former high-ranking Syrian diplomat who defected saying his conscience could not allow him to continue representing the regime has emerged from hiding to give his first interview to Sky News.

Khaled al Ayoubi was President Bashar al Assad's most senior figure in Britain and was at the heart of discussions between Britain and Syria over its use of chemical weapons. 

After resigning as the charge d'affaire at the Syrian embassy in July 2012, Mr al Ayoubi said he had been granted protection by the UK's Foreign Office in return for information about the Syrian regime.

Since then he said he received death threats from members of Mr Assad's secret intelligence service and had been forced to live at a secret location.

Mr al-Ayoubi believes Assad was planning a chemical attack last summer

Speaking exclusively to Sky News he said: "When I decided to step down from my post I received messages from people within the Syrian government. They said if I was seen walking down the street in London I would be killed."

The Foreign Office provided him and his wife and two children with a safe house outside London, he said.

Mr al Ayoubi, an ethnic Kurd who joined the Syrian diplomatic service in 2001, now intends to apply for political asylum in the UK on the grounds he could face persecution if he was to return to his home country.

Mr al Ayoubi revealed how the Foreign Office knew last year of the existence of chemical weapons in Syria and that the regime assured authorities they would not be used against civilians.

He said he believed President Assad was planning a chemical attack last summer but a crucial intervention by the British government may have prevented it.

The attack in Zamalka was estimated to have killed hundreds of people

"During the last two weeks of July 2012 there was information delivered to the British government about the preparation done by the regime to start using chemical weapons against the militants and the opposition surrounding Damascus.

"They called me and they asked me to deliver a message to Syria saying that they had information that they have the intention and the will to use chemical weapons against the people and that this was not acceptable.

"I delivered this message to Syria and they sent me an answer saying these chemical weapons are secured, stored and monitored by Syrian army and for use only in the case of aggression from outside the country.

"I think because there was condemnation by many countries at the time the Syrian government stopped their intention and didn't launch any chemical attack against the opposition.

Hundreds of children were injured in the strike

"Syria has never used chemical weapons on any country even when it has been threatened. Syria has chemical weapons for one use only - to target and kill its own civilians."

A source in the Foreign Office did not dispute Mr al Ayoubi's claims but added that if Syria had chemical weapons locked away there was "pretty solid" evidence that they had been used since on civilians since.

He said he and other Syrian activists had been left furious by the refusal by some MPs to vote in favour of British involvement in possible military action on Syria.

"Ed Miliband says there should be a diplomatic solution to the problem. You cannot be diplomatic with Assad. He is worse than Adolf Hitler.

UN inspectors are now in the Netherlands analysing their findings

"Hitler didn't use chemical weapons against his own people, he did not bomb his own towns and cities. Hitler is junior compared to Assad.

"But both of them are dictators, both of them are killers. Both of them bring agony and suffering to the people around them.

"The Labour party in particular will find themselves on the wrong side of history. How can they sit back and allow thousands of innocent Syrians to die.

"If there is no punishment, if you don't stop him now, if he doesn't see that there are serious consequences for killing people by chemical weapons he will use them again and again, over and over again.

"I believe that in the future the Syrian people will look at the people who fought in the British parliament and say you left us to be killed'".

10.52 | 0 komentar | Read More