Al Arabiya in English
reports:
The Syrian government ordered the use chemical weapons against the Free Syrian Army (FSA) during select battles with Syrian regime forces, a defected general told Al Arabiya late Saturday.
A former army general from the chemical weapons branch, Zahir al-Sakit, said he was instructed to use chemical weapons during a regime battle with the FSA in the southwestern area of Hauran.
But instead, Sakit disobeyed the orders and swapped the chemicals with disinfectant water he called “Javel water.”
“I was given orders to execute the use of poisonous chemicals in caves and tunnels that are used by the Free Syrian Army, but I mixed all chemicals with water and used Javel water instead,” Sakit said.
According to Sakit, prior to his defection, no chemical weapons were used on his watch in battles against the FSA.
“I assure you that I ordered all chemical weapons to be buried and I can point out the exact locations of those chemicals,” Sakit added.
His
actual interview in Arabic, however, also says that
he knows specifically where and when chemical weapons have been used by Syria:
Following are excerpts from an interview with Syrian army defector Brigadier-general Zaher Al-Saket, former head of chemical warfare in the 5th division, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on April 27, 2013:
Zaker Al-Saket: There are three types of chemical weapons: harassing chemical agents, incapacitating agents, and lethal agents. When the demonstrations started, the regime used harassing agents, like any country in the world using tear gas to disperse demonstrations. As for incapacitating and lethal chemical agents - the regime used incapacitating agents at first, but when the world remained silent about this, and the regime thought that the international community did not care, it used lethal [chemical] weapons in more than 13 locations. The last incident was in Utaybah. The regime used sarin gas on three occasions, and I am increasingly afraid that they will use agents more powerful than sarin. They have VX gas and mustard gas, also known as iprit.
[…]
The regime's accusation that the opposition has used chemical weapons is the most compelling proof that the regime itself has used them, because the opposition does not have the means to use chemical weapons. The means of using chemical weapons are known to the whole world: airplanes, missiles, helicopters, and artillery. Worst still, this regime has binary chemical weapons. The world must understand that there are binary chemical weapons in Syria, and [Bashar Al-Assad] will use them against his people, because he is the Nero of our age.
Binary chemical weapons consist of two non-toxic agents, which are placed in incubators that are loaded onto artillery shells. Then, the shells are launched, and when the two agents mix, a toxic substance is formed.
[…]
[Al Assad] has a complete arsenal of chemical weapons. Some came from the former USSR, and some are being manufactured right now.
[…]
Iranian experts are working with Syrian officers in the Mazzeh military airport. They manufacture incubators for the toxic substances, which will be loaded onto warheads carried by airplanes. When these warheads hit the ground, they release a toxic cloud.
[…]
I was given an order to use these substances, but I replaced them with liquid bleach. This was the reason for my defection from Al-Assad's army.
[…]
In the Amoud Horan battle in Busra Al-Harir, I was given an order to launch toxic agents into the trenches and caves to which the F.S.A. was heading. But, Allah be praised, I replaced this substance with liquid bleach, which I diluted with water and launched into the trenches.
[…]
I buried these substances with my own hands, so my commander would not find out and send me to prison.
[…]
In Utaybah, near the Damascus international airport, the regime used sarin gas three times, because it is close to the airport. The next time chemical weapons were used was in Khan Al-Assal. First, they used incapacitating agents, and then they used lethal agents, because the F.S.A. forces had managed to reach the military academy, which is the main regime stronghold.
[…]
The chemical weapons are kept in heavily fortified places in the mountains. I know exactly where they are.
[…]
The U.S. can seize control of these weapons right now, but if I reveal their location in the media, they will vanish immediately.
[…]
The chemical weapons are kept in several places: In Aleppo, in the Hama region, in Damascus, and in Latakia. The chemical weapons are there.
Many media
outlets reported the sanitized Al Arabiya version, but none seem to have noticed that the full interview was more damning.
