Hagel says Syria used chemical weapons on ‘small scale’

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said American intelligence believes "to some degree of varying confidence" that Syria has used chemical weapons, BBC News reported.

During a visit to the United Arab Emirates, he said it was suspected that sarin gas had been used against rebels.

Hagel said the use was "small scale" and did not specify where or when.

The White House has warned chemical weapons use would be a "red line" for possible intervention, but said the intelligence does not represent proof.

Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Hagel said "our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin".

"It violates every convention of warfare," the Pentagon chief said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Capitol Hill that there had been two instances of chemical weapons use in Syria.

The UK Foreign Office echoed the U.S. claims, saying it had "limited but persuasive information from various sources" of chemical weapons use, including sarin, in Syria.

Syria is believed to possess large amounts of chemical weapons and there has been heightened concern among the international community in recent months about the safety of the stockpiles.

Although there have been numerous accusations, there has so far not been any confirmation that chemical weapons have been used during Syria's two-year-old conflict.