British Prime Minister David Cameron has described the ‘limited but growing evidence’ of the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against rebel forces as a war crime.
‘It is extremely serious – this is a war crime – and we should take it very seriously,’ he told the BBC here this morning.
‘I think what President Obama said was absolutely right –that this should form for the international community a red line for us to do more. I have always been keen for us to domore.
‘We are working with the Opposition, we want our allies and partners to do more with us to shape that Opposition to make sure we are supporting people with good motives who want a good outcome, to put pressure on that regime so we can bring it to an end,’ he said.
The British PM, however, ruled out the possibility of British troops on the ground.
‘I don’t want to see that (British troops) and I don’t think that is likely to happen, but I think we can step up the pressure on the regime, work with our partners, work with the opposition in order to bring about the right outcome.’
‘But we need to go on gathering this evidence and also to send a very clear warning to the Syrian regime about these appalling actions,’ he said.
The US had said on Thursday for the first time that Syria had likely used chemical weapons against rebel forces, but emphasised on some doubt.
White House officials said US intelligence agencies believed ‘with varying degrees of confidence’ that Syria had used the nerve agent sarin and that it would consult with allies and seek more evidence to confirm their intelligence.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it also had ‘limited butpersuasive’ evidence of the use of chemical agents in the Syrian conflict, which the UN says has left more than 70,000 dead since March 2011.
‘It is limited evidence, but there is growing evidence that we’ve seen too of the use of chemical weapons, probably by the regime,’ Cameron said today.
It is understood that Britain obtained samples from inside Syria that have been tested by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, Wiltshire.
Syria’s government and rebels have accused each other of using chemical weapons. A UN team is trying to enter Syria to investigate.
‘It is extremely serious – this is a war crime – and we should take it very seriously,’ he told the BBC here this morning.
‘I think what President Obama said was absolutely right –that this should form for the international community a red line for us to do more. I have always been keen for us to domore.
‘We are working with the Opposition, we want our allies and partners to do more with us to shape that Opposition to make sure we are supporting people with good motives who want a good outcome, to put pressure on that regime so we can bring it to an end,’ he said.
The British PM, however, ruled out the possibility of British troops on the ground.
‘I don’t want to see that (British troops) and I don’t think that is likely to happen, but I think we can step up the pressure on the regime, work with our partners, work with the opposition in order to bring about the right outcome.’
‘But we need to go on gathering this evidence and also to send a very clear warning to the Syrian regime about these appalling actions,’ he said.
The US had said on Thursday for the first time that Syria had likely used chemical weapons against rebel forces, but emphasised on some doubt.
White House officials said US intelligence agencies believed ‘with varying degrees of confidence’ that Syria had used the nerve agent sarin and that it would consult with allies and seek more evidence to confirm their intelligence.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it also had ‘limited butpersuasive’ evidence of the use of chemical agents in the Syrian conflict, which the UN says has left more than 70,000 dead since March 2011.
‘It is limited evidence, but there is growing evidence that we’ve seen too of the use of chemical weapons, probably by the regime,’ Cameron said today.
It is understood that Britain obtained samples from inside Syria that have been tested by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, Wiltshire.
Syria’s government and rebels have accused each other of using chemical weapons. A UN team is trying to enter Syria to investigate.