BBC News US & Canada 26 August 2013 Last updated at 19:48 GMT Syria chemical attack undeniable, says John Kerry
US Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned what he termed the "moral obscenity" of the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons against its own people. He said footage of the alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus was "real and compelling" and "undeniable". He said President Barack Obama was considering a response. It comes hours after UN chemical weapons inspectors were fired on near the Syrian capital. The team was dispatched to one of the five sites around Damascus where hundreds of people were reported to have been killed on 21 August. The Syrian government has denied launching any chemical attacks. Russia, a key Syrian ally, has strongly warned against Western military action in Syria. "What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world. It defies any code of morality," Mr Kerry said in a briefing for journalists on Monday. The US administration had additional information about the attack that it would make public in the days ahead, he added. He said the delay in allowing UN inspectors to the sites of the alleged chemical weapons attack were signs the Syrian government had something to hide. "Attacking the area, shelling and systematically destroying evidence is not the behaviour of a government that has nothing to hide. The regime's belated decision to allow access is too late... to be credible," Mr Kerry said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier told reporters the West had not been able to come up with any proof of chemical weapons use. He was responding to suggestions from some Western countries that military action against the Syria government could be taken without a UN mandate. BBC BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
