Assad planned chemical weapons transfer to Hezbolla

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's government drew up plans to transfer chemical weapons to Hezbollah, a defected general formerly in charge of the country's massive chemical weapon stockpile has said. Maj.-Gen. Adnan Sillu, who defected from Assad's regime three months ago, told The Times newspaper here Wednesday that Damascus also had plans in place to use the weapons in its battle against rebel forces seeking to oust Al-Assad. The issue of Syria's chemical arms stockpile, considered to be the third-largest in the world, has vexed Western and Israeli officials, who fear the weapons may fall into terrorists' hands or be deployed inside Syria, the paper pointed out. The West has decided not to intervene in the 18-month conflict, which has claimed upwards of 20,000 lives, yet US President Barack Obama recently called the transfer of chemical weapons a "red line" for Washington. Sillu told the paper that Syria had been kept from such a move for fear of consequences in the international arena, but now had nothing to lose. "If another war breaks out between Israel and Hezbollah, it will only help the Syrian regime," he said. Reports of the movement or testing of chemical weapons have multiplied as Assad's grip on the country has become more tenuous. Last Monday, the German weekly Der Speigel reported that, in August, the regime, with the help of Iranian advisers, had tested weapons that could carry chemical warheads. According to Sillu, over the summer, top regime officials held a meeting south of Damascus to discuss the use of chemical weapons against the rebels. The plan included gassing opposition fighters and civilians who support them in Aleppo, the country's largest city. The regime has been waging a months-long battle for control of the northern metropolis, considered a linchpin in the Assad's hold on the country.