World News
Syrian troops used chemical weapons - growing evidence─── 17:19 Fri, 26 Apr 2013
There is "limited but growing" evidence that Syrian government troops have used chemical weapons, UK Prime Minister David Cameron says.
"It is extremely serious, this is a war crime," Mr Cameron told the BBC.
On Thursday, the White House said that US intelligence agencies believed "with varying degrees of confidence" that Syria had used the nerve agent sarin on a "small scale".
Syrian officials have denounced the allegations as "lies".
Opposition activists and state media meanwhile report fierce fighting between government troops and rebels in a number of suburbs of the capital, Damascus.
Mr Cameron said he agreed with the White House's warning that chemical weapons use would be a "red line" for possible intervention.
However, the US has said that this latest intelligence does not represent proof of chemical weapons use.
David Cameron: "It is extremely serious, this is a war crime"
The White House's assessment was made in letters to lawmakers on Thursday signed by Miguel Rodriguez, White House director of the office of legislative affairs.
"Our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin," one of the letters said.
No details were given of where or when sarin had been used.
The letter added: "Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experiences, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient - only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making."
The phrase "varying degrees of confidence" is normally used to reflect differences in opinion within the intelligence community.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the use of sarin "violates every convention of warfare".
BBCNews
"It is extremely serious, this is a war crime," Mr Cameron told the BBC.
On Thursday, the White House said that US intelligence agencies believed "with varying degrees of confidence" that Syria had used the nerve agent sarin on a "small scale".
Syrian officials have denounced the allegations as "lies".
Opposition activists and state media meanwhile report fierce fighting between government troops and rebels in a number of suburbs of the capital, Damascus.
Mr Cameron said he agreed with the White House's warning that chemical weapons use would be a "red line" for possible intervention.
However, the US has said that this latest intelligence does not represent proof of chemical weapons use.
David Cameron: "It is extremely serious, this is a war crime"
The White House's assessment was made in letters to lawmakers on Thursday signed by Miguel Rodriguez, White House director of the office of legislative affairs.
"Our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin," one of the letters said.
No details were given of where or when sarin had been used.
The letter added: "Given the stakes involved, and what we have learned from our own recent experiences, intelligence assessments alone are not sufficient - only credible and corroborated facts that provide us with some degree of certainty will guide our decision-making."
The phrase "varying degrees of confidence" is normally used to reflect differences in opinion within the intelligence community.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the use of sarin "violates every convention of warfare".
BBCNews
