Obama: Syria chemical weapon claim a 'grave concern'
US President Barack Obama
has said the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria in an attack on
Wednesday is a "big event of grave concern".
Mr Obama said the US was still seeking confirmation such
weapons were used, but if proved true the situation would "require
America's attention".Meanwhile,
Syria's main ally Russia has said there is growing evidence that Syrian rebels were behind the attack.
The opposition says hundreds died in a government assault outside Damascus.
But despite calls from many different countries, there is no sign yet that the Syrian authorities will allow a UN inspection team to visit to investigate the claims.
Also on Friday, UN agencies said the number of children forced to flee Syria had reached one million.
The UN's refugee agency and Unicef described the figure as "a shameful milestone", and said a further two million children were displaced within the country.
'Very troublesome' Last year, President Obama said the use of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a "red line" and force a tough US response.
In an interview broadcast on CNN on Friday, he said that the recent claims of chemical weapons use were "very troublesome".
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Barack Obama says the attack is "a big event of grave concern" that is "going to require America's attention" if proved true.
But it is worth reading the whole interview with the president to get a sense of his extreme caution.
It is uncertain what action the US might take - curiously the state department has said that previously the red lines have been crossed and the US has taken action, but that they can't say what.
You might think a private punishment is not much of a deterrent and anything that happens now will have to be a lot more public.
But Mr Obama does not sound like a man gung ho for military action. It sounds like the pleading of man being dragged, pushed and pulled by allies and world opinion to do something but who wants to be certain it doesn't end up in a new war.
But it is worth reading the whole interview with the president to get a sense of his extreme caution.
It is uncertain what action the US might take - curiously the state department has said that previously the red lines have been crossed and the US has taken action, but that they can't say what.
You might think a private punishment is not much of a deterrent and anything that happens now will have to be a lot more public.
But Mr Obama does not sound like a man gung ho for military action. It sounds like the pleading of man being dragged, pushed and pulled by allies and world opinion to do something but who wants to be certain it doesn't end up in a new war.
"What we've seen indicates
clearly this is a big event, of grave concern, and we are already in
communications with the entire international community," Mr Obama said.
He said that "core national interests" of the US were
involved in the Syrian conflict, "both in terms of us making sure that
weapons of mass destruction are not proliferating, as well as needing to
protect our allies, our bases in the region."The BBC has learnt that some in the White House are furious and regard Wednesday's attack as an outrage that breached international law and demands a response.
But Mr Obama warned in his interview: "Sometimes what we've seen is that folks will call for immediate action, jumping into stuff, that does not turn out well, gets us mired in very difficult situations, can result in us being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region."
Meanwhile, Russia joined calls for an "objective investigation" by UN chemical weapons experts.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said Moscow had urged President Bashar al-Assad to co-operate with a probe, but also that questions remained about the willingness of the opposition to provide "secure, safe access of the [UN] mission to the location of the incident".
"More new evidence is starting to emerge that this criminal act was clearly provocative," the ministry added.
“I’ve seen people with loss of speech... [one
child] compulsively shooting with a toy gun," said UN High Commissioner
for Refugees Antonio Guterres
The ministry also described as "unacceptable" calls from various European capitals for the UN Security Council to authorise the use of force in Syria.
'Something to hide' Other leaders have also pushed for an urgent UN investigation.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has already called for inspectors to start "without delay".
"I can think of no good reason why any party - either government or opposition forces - would decline this opportunity to get to the truth of the matter," Mr Ban said from the South Korean capital, Seoul.
He said any use of chemical weapons would violate international law and should result in "serious consequences for the perpetrator".
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague is holding discussions with Mr Ban, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Qatar's foreign minister to press for immediate access for the UN team.
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