Evidence of deadly Syria chemical attack ‘undeniable’, says US
US Secretary of State condemns the use of chemical weapons on civilians in Syria as a "moral obscenity"
US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the evidence of a massive deadly chemical attack last week was “undeniable” and accused the Syrian government of trying to cover it up, signaling the United States was edging closer to a possible military response.
In the most forceful US reaction yet after Wednesday’s suspected gas attack outside Damascus, Kerry said President Barack Obama “believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s most heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Kerry spoke after UN chemical weapons experts interviewed and took blood samples on Monday from victims of last week’s apparent chemical attack in a rebel-held suburb of Syria’s capital, after the inspectors themselves survived sniper fire that hit their convoy.
“What we saw in Syria last week should shock the conscience of the world,” Kerry told reporters. “Let me be clear: The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity.”
Kerry accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of acting like it had something to hide by blocking the UN inspectors’ visit to the scene for days and shelling the area.
“Our sense of basic humanity is offended not only by this cowardly crime, but also by the cynical attempt to cover it up,” Kerry said.