US Secretary of state says chemical weapons were used in Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the State Department in Washington, August 26 US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that chemical weapons were used in Syria and accused President Bashar al-Assad of covering up evidence .
Speaking on Monday after UN inspectors visited the site of an alleged poison gas attack in the outskirts of Damascus, Kerry called the use of chemical weapons a “moral obscenity” and said all peoples and nations who believe in “common humanity” must “stand up to ensure that there is accountability”.
While the findings of the UN team are yet to be published, Kerry said it was “already clear to the world” that chemical weapons were used in the attack on Ghouta on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Kerry said it was known that the Syrian regime had the capacity to carry out such a chemical attack and that it wanted to clear the rebel-held area where it allegedly occurred.
He called Assad’s decision to allow inspectors in on Monday as “too late to be credible”, saying the delay, and government shelling of the site of the alleged attack were “not the behaviour of a govt that has nothing to hide”
The secretary of state added that Washington is consulting with foreign ministers, congress and its allies before it decides how to respond to the attack, but made it clear that President Obama “believes there must be accountability”.

Syria\'s opposition says more than 1300 people died when regime forces unleashed chemical weapons against rebel-held towns east and southwest of Damascus on Wednesday, while Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said 355 people had died of \"neurotoxic\" symptoms.
Damascus has strongly denied it carried out such an attack, instead blaming the rebels.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Western claims his regime used chemical weapons were an \"insult to common sense\" and warned the United States it faced failure if it attacked Syria, in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia published Monday.

UN experts in Syria gathered \"valuable\" evidence on Monday on the suspected attack despite coming under sniper fire, UN officials said.
Unidentified attackers fired at a UN convoy as it tried to approach Ghouta, east of Damascus, hitting the tires and front window of the lead vehicle, said a UN spokesman, Farhan Haq.
The team made a new attempt to reach the scene of last week\'s attack, in which hundreds of people are said to have died, and visited two hospitals, Haq added.
\"It was a very productive day and once (the team) has made its evaluations it does intend to continue its work tomorrow,\" the spokesman told reporters.
The team, led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, is \"already gathering valuable evidence,\" said the spokesman.
UN leader Ban Ki-moon said that despite the \"very dangerous circumstances,\" the investigators \"visited two hospitals, they interviewed witnesses, survivors and doctors, they also collected some samples.\"
According to UN officials, the hospitals are in the Moadamiyet al-Sham district near Damascus.
The UN team was in a buffer zone between government and opposition-held areas when it came under attack.
Ban said the United Nations had made a \"strong complaint\" to the Syrian government and opposition forces, and demanded that the safety of the UN experts be guaranteed.
The rebels and President Bashar al-Assad\'s government have blamed each other for the sniper assault as they have also traded accusations over the launch of the chemical attack.
Western nations have accused Assad\'s forces of using chemical weapons, which are banned under international law. The August 21 attack at Ghouta has led to heightened speculation that a military strike could be launched against government targets.
Kerry’s Monday speech echoed earlier comments by French President Francois Hollande, who told his US counterpart Barack Obama that \"everything was consistent\" with the conclusion that Damascus was behind the attack.
\"The two presidents agreed to stay in close contact to arrive at a joint response to this unprecedented aggression,\" the French leader\'s office said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned any evidence of a chemical attack may have been destroyed. \"The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment,\" he said.
However, French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault implied that a punitive strike on Syria was not imminent, in an interview with France 2 television.
\"Once this (UN) investigation has ended, we await a firm decision, a clear decision, from the international community. The (UN) Security Council will meet,\" he said.
A White House official also shot down a report in Britain\'s Telegraph newspaper claiming that London and Washington planned to join forces and launch military action against Syria \"within days\".
\"The president has not made a decision to undertake military action,\" the official said.

But speaking ahead of Kerry’s speech on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron that there was no evidence yet that the Syrian regime had used chemical weapons against rebels, Cameron\'s office said.
During a telephone call between the two leaders, Putin said that \"they did not have evidence of whether a chemical weapons attack had taken place or who was responsible,\" according to a Downing Street spokesman.
Cameron insisted that there was \"little doubt\" Bashar al-Assad\'s regime had carried out a chemical attack, according to a read out of the telephone conversation.
The British leader doubted that the rebels had the capability to carry out such an attack and pointed out that the regime had launched a heavy offensive in the area in the days before and after the incident.
\"The regime had also prevented UN access in the immediate aftermath, suggesting they had something to hide,\" he told Putin.
However, the pair did both repeat their commitment to an agreement reached by G8 leaders in June, which resolved that no-one should use chemical weapons and any use would merit a serious response from the international community.
On Sunday, a strident warning came from Washington\'s archfoe Iran.
\"If the United States crosses this red line, there will be harsh consequences for the White House,\" armed forces deputy chief of staff Massoud Jazayeri said, without elaborating.
The Arab League is to meet on Tuesday to discuss the alleged use of chemicals, the bloc\'s deputy chief Ahmed Ben Helli said.
In Israel, President Shimon Peres called for international efforts to \"take out\" chemical weapons in Syria as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would pull the \"trigger\" if needed to protect its people.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad\'s rule flared in March 2011, the UN says.

Additional source: AFP