Obama Warns Syria Not to Use Chemical Weapons

July 23, 2012 - 8:25 pm | Category: World

President Barack Obama is warning Syria against using chemical weapons, saying that would be a “tragic mistake.”

Obama told a veterans convention in the western city of Reno, Nevada Monday that the world is watching Syria. He said President Bashar al-Assad would be held accountable if his nation used poison gas and other deadly chemicals.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, said the government would never use chemical weapons against its own people, but would unleash them against what he called foreign invaders. He said the military is securely guarding the nation’s weapons stockpile.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he is deeply concerned about what would happen to Syria’s stockpile if the Assad government collapses. He said the Israeli army is preparing to act if Syrian weapons fall into the hands of Hezbollah or other Islamic militants.