Obama refuses to specify US support for Syrian rebels

U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday refused to specify U.S. military support for the Syrian rebels but reiterated that the Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons in the civil war. "I cannot and will not comment on specifics on our programs related to the Syrian opposition," Obama said at a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that Washington was confident that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons and it was not possible for President Bashar al-Assad to regain legitimacy. The U.S. decided last week that Washington would ramp up its involvement in the Syrian conflict, following a U.S. investigation accusing Syrian government forces of using chemical weapons. In an interview with a German newspaper on Monday, al-Assad warned that Europe will "pay the price" if it was to send arms to Syrian rebel forces and that arming the rebels would lead to terrorism in Europe. He denied claims that Syrian forces had used chemical weapons in the conflict. At the G8 summit that closed on Tuesday, world leaders stressed their commitment to reach a political solution to Syria's long-standing crisis. They agreed to push forward the related peace talks on the Syria issue and press Syria's conflicting sides to join the talks as soon as possible. Up to now, at least 93,000 people have been killed in the conflict that began in March 2011 between the government and forces seeking to oust President al-Assad.