The US says Syria’s government appears to be preparing for a chemical weapons attack and has warned that it will “pay a very heavy price” if one takes place.
The White House said similar activities had been seen before bombs containing the nerve agent Sarin were allegedly dropped on a rebel-held town in April.
Dozens of people were killed, prompting President Donald Trump to order a missile strike on a Syrian airbase.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said the incident was fabricated.
His close ally, Russia, meanwhile said an air strike had hit a rebel depot full of chemical munitions and released toxic agents into the air – a claim that rebel factions and the Western powers which back them have dismissed.
In a statement, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said on Monday the US had “identified potential preparations for another chemical weapons attack by the Assad regime that would likely result in the mass murder of civilians, including innocent children”.
“The activities are similar to preparations the regime made before its 4 April 2017 chemical weapons attack,” he added, referring to the incident in Khan Sheikhoun.
“As we have previously stated, the United States is in Syria to eliminate the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. If, however, Mr Assad conducts another mass murder attack using chemical weapons, he and his military will pay a heavy price.”
Statements from @PressSec on #syria pic.twitter.com/gEqPAf6WBk
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) June 27, 2017
The White House provided no supporting evidence or further explanation.
However, agencies cited a non-governmental source with close ties to the White House as saying that the US had received intelligence that Syrian government forces were mixing precursor chemicals for a possible Sarin attack in either the east or south of the country.
The very public warning to the Syrian government against using chemical weapons is highly unusual. Such a step , which must surely be based upon detailed intelligence, might usually be delivered behind the scenes through diplomatic channels.
The use of chemical weapons requires tell-tale preparations such as the movement of particular units, the distribution of weapons to a base from which they can be delivered and so on, all capable of being picked up by US satellites or drones.
The warning is clearly intended to forestall such an attack and to make it clear that if the Syrian regime again crosses this line – just as it did last April – the US will respond with force.
This time though the context is very different. There is growing friction between the US and pro-Assad forces. A US strike now would risk Washington being drawn further into the conflict. But the warning from the White House is crystal clear.
US permanent representative to the UN, Nikki Haley, also said Russia and Iran – another Assad ally – would be held responsible if there was an attack.
“Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people,” she tweeted.
Any further attacks done to the people of Syria will be blamed on Assad, but also on Russia & Iran who support him killing his own people.
— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) June 27, 2017
But officials at the state department and Pentagon were caught off guard by the White House statement, according to US media reports, suggesting that their departments were not consulted in advance.
British Defense Minister Michael Fallon said London would support U.S. action to prevent a chemical weapons attack but that it had not seen the intelligence on which Washington based Monday’s statement.
- Russia brands US warning to Syria over chemical weapons ‘unacceptable’
There was no immediate response from Syria’s government, but Russia said it considered “such threats against the Syrian leadership to be unacceptable”.
“I am not aware of any information about a threat that chemical weapons can be used,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
“Certainly, we consider such threats to the legitimate leadership of the Syrian Arab Republic unacceptable.”
Russian officials have privately described the war in Syria as the biggest source of tension between Moscow and Washington, and the cruise missile strike ordered by Trump in April raised the risk of confrontation between them.