Syria ‘still has chemical weapons’

Gen Mattis warns Assad regime against their use

TEL AVIV // US defence secretary Jim Mattis said during a visit to Israel yesterday that there was “no doubt” that Syria had retained some chemical weapons and warned president Bashar Al Assad’s regime not to use them.

At a press conference with Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, Gen Mattis declined to comment on the number of weapons Washington believes Syria has retained.

US president Donald Trump’s administration dropped Tomahawk missiles earlier this month on an airbase in Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, a town in Idlib province held by rebels.

“The bottom line is there can be no doubt in the international community’s mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all,” Gen Matis said.

“It’s a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and it’s going to have to be taken up diplomatically, and they’d be ill-advised to try to use any again. We’ve made that very clear with our strike.”

An Israeli assessment has found that the Assad regime was still in possession of “a few tonnes” of chemical weapons, a military official confirmed.

President Al Assad strongly denied the allegation that his forces used chemical weapons against the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun on April 4.

He has repeatedly said that his forces turned over all chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013 under a deal brokered by Russia to avoid threatened United States military action.

Meanwhile, Gen Mattis said Pyongyang had made provocative comments and that they had also been dishonest. North Korea is seeking to develop a long- range missile capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead and has so far staged five nuclear tests, two of them last year. Vice president Mike Pence vowed on Wednesday that the US would counter any North Korean attack with an overwhelming and effective response.