WarSclerotic

UNITED NATIONS – Syrian envoy Bashar al-Ja’afari announced Tuesday that a new chemical attack has occurred in a small town near its border with Turkey.

Ja’afari claimed that, as the Syrian army was making gains on the territory against rebel forces in the north, plastic bags filled with white powder were distributed. The powders produced symptoms among residents associated with the effects caused by chemical weapons, he said.

“The victims were transported into Turkey to be treated in Turkish hospitals and then, of course, today or tomorrow you will hear again that the Turkish government has new tools indicating that the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its own people,” Ja’afari charged.

At an international press conference, the Syrian envoy slammed Britain and France for citing evidence that it won’t reveal publicly, and criticized UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for taking it seriously.

“This hostile campaign is led by some parties that have made no secret of their hostility,” he said, blaming the UK for introducing chemical weapons to the Middle East.

He called on the secretary-general to share all the intelligence he has seen from outside parties with Syrian authorities, and said that the interference of other countries is causing a delay of the investigation, requested by the Syrian government, into a chemical attack in the Syrian city of Aleppo on March 19.

Speaking while US President Barack Obama clarified the American position on chemical weapons use in Syria in a press briefing at the White House, Ja’afari cited Iraq as a lesson for the international community to keep in mind as allegations continue to mount against his government.

“We all know for sure the final conclusion: that was, they didn’t find anything in Iraq,” he said, charging that the Assad government will not let inspectors “move freely on Syrian territory” to investigate “unfounded allegations.”

President Obama stated that “what we now have is evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria,” while also redefining his definition of the term “game-changer,” saying that his administration would have to reevaluate its options in its approach to the Syrian crisis.