Russian diplomats check reported use of chemical arms by Assad govt - spokesman
MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Embassy in Damascus is checking reports that the Syrian armed forces used chemical weapons in recent action against rebels, embassy spokesman Sergei Markov told Interfax on Monday.
Earlier in the day, Qatar-based television channel Al-Jazeera said, citing Syrian opposition activists, that the Syrian army had used chemical weapons against insurgents outside the city of Homs for the first time since the conflict began.
The rebels were attacked with poison gas, Al-Jazeera cited Homs activists as saying. Moreover, Syrian warplanes dropped toxic agent-containing bombs on them, activists said.
Seven people were killed and dozens injured as fighter jets raided the Al-Bayada district in Homs, Al-Jazeera said.
The channel showed footage showing a man on life-support in hospital who was an alleged gas victim.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz said four people had been blinded and four others paralyzed as a result of the reported gas attack. Haaretz cited Syrian opposition activists as saying the gas had not been identified yet but that Syrian doctors had traced indications of sarin.
The Times of Israel, an Israeli English-language daily, quoted Syrian general Adnan Sillu, who defected to the West earlier this year, as saying Syria's chemical arsenal "has reached similar levels to Israel's nuclear weapons."
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be called to account if the reports on the alleged use of chemical arms are confirmed.
At the same time, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, claimed that Syria's government would not use chemical weapons under any circumstances.
