Pentagon chief warns Syria against using chemical weapons

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said during a visit to Israel on Friday there can be "no doubt" Syria has retained some chemical weapons and warned President Bashar al-Assad's regime not to use them.
Mattis made the comments as he began a one-day visit for talks with Israeli leaders, who strongly supported the recent US strike against an airbase in neighbouring Syria over an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town.
"The bottom line is there can be no doubt in the international community's mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all," Mattis said during a press conference with Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
"It's a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and it's going to have to be taken up diplomatically, and they'd be ill-advised to try to use any again. We've made that very clear with our strike."
Mattis added that Syria had "dispersed their aircraft in recent days."
An Israeli military assessment has found that Assad's regime was still in possession of "a few tonnes" of chemical weapons, an army official confirmed.
Some Israeli media reports put the number at between one and three tonnes. Lieberman declined to comment on the assessment at Friday's press conference.
Assad, backed by his ally Russia, has strongly denied the allegation that his forces used chemical weapons against the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun on April 4, describing it as a "100 per cent fabrication".
He has said repeatedly that his forces turned over all chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013, under a deal brokered by Russia to avoid threatened US military action.
The agreement was later enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution.
Talks with Netanyahu 
Mattis was later holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, followed by President Reuven Rivlin.
Israel and the United States have long had close strategic ties, with Washington providing Israel more than $3bn per year in defence aid and President Donald Trump pledging unstinting support for the country.
Despite tensions over Israeli settlement building, Barack Obama's administration signed a new agreement with Israel before he left office increasing the amount to $3.8bn for a 10-year period beginning in 2018.
Mattis hopes to hear directly from Israeli leaders on their concerns and what they expect from the Trump administration, a US defence official said.
In a further sign of close relations, Israel is to receive three more F-35 stealth fighter jets on Sunday, adding to two which arrived in December.
They are among 50 that Israel has agreed to buy from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.

source: gulf-times.com

Pope announces world day of fasting, prayer for Syria

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has called for the world to unite on Saturday in a day of fasting and prayer for Syria and said "God and history" would judge anyone using chemical weapons.

"May the cry for peace enter the hearts of everyone," the pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims at his traditional weekly blessing in the Vatican on Sunday.

"I condemn with particular force the use of chemical weapons. I still have in my mind and heart the terrible images of the past days," he said.

"There is judgment from God and history on our actions that no one can escape," he said, in his first explicit reference to the chemical arms claims.

He urged the international community to make "every effort" to begin a process of dialogue in Syria.

The pope said he would lead the prayers with a five-hour vigil in St Peter's Square on Saturday, just two days before the US Congress meets to debate possible strikes by the United States on Syria.

The relatively rare call for a global day of fasting and prayer was similar to one made by late pope John Paul II following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Vatican expert Luigi Accattoli told AFP.

Although he did not apportion blame for the alleged chemical attack, the pope's reference to divine judgment was also similar to John Paul II's call for members of the Italian mafia to confess their crimes and repent, Accattoli said.

His exhortation "Never again to war!" echoed a famous speech made by another of his predecessors, Paul VI, at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope's call came as the United States, France and other countries were making plans for a limited armed response against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

The Vatican has repeatedly pushed for a negotiated solution to the conflict and has already criticised plans by global powers for an armed intervention.

It has been more cautious, however, than some Christian leaders in Syria and the region who have openly defended the current Syrian government seeing it as a guarantor of a multi-religious state.

Christian minorities are concerned about the rise of radical Islam in the region and point to the example of Iraq, where there has been an exodus of Christians faced with violence and discrimination.

"My heart is profoundly wounded in these days by what is happening in Syria and I am anxious about the prospect of dramatic developments," the pope said.

"War leads to more war, violence to more violence," he said, voicing hope that "a chain of commitment for peace will unite all women and men of good will."

"Never again to war!" the pope said in his emotional speech, echoing a call made by late pope Paul VI at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope said he extended his invitation to push for peace in Syria to all Christians and the faithful from other religions, as well as non-believers.

"With all my strength, I call on the warring parties to listen to the voice of their own consciences, not to close themselves in their own interests but to look on the other as a brother," he said.

Saturday's prayers in St Peter's Square will begin at 1700 GMT and end at 2200 GMT, he said.

Fasting in the Catholic tradition is not as strictly interpreted as in other denominations or faiths.

"Everyone interprets it how they want. It can mean not eating or not drinking or missing only some meals or some courses in a meal," Accattoli said.

He said there have been other days of fasting and prayer for peace in Catholic Church history but these are rarely linked to a specific conflict.

source: interaksyon.com