Syrian opposition : chemicals used

Syrian opposition groups say they have documented 18 incidents in which the regime has used chemical weapons. Quoting unnamed opposition elements in Syria, Israel Radio said Tuesday chemical weapons were used in the Damascus, Idlib, Homs and Hama areas, and are of a kind of gas not known to be in the regime's chemical weapons supply. The report said no international body has been able to certify the claims. Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon told Army Radio Israel is unable to confirm the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime. "We do not have confirmation or proof that chemicals weapons have already been used," he said. The Russian embassy in Damascus said it is checking the reports, the Voice of Russia and the Interfax news agency said. Embassy spokesman Sergei Markov was quoted as saying the embassy "hasn't received any reports of this kind. We are looking into this information." Planning for the day after the downfall of President Bashar Assad has become a race against time, The Washington Post said. To prevent the country from plunging into further chaos and bloodshed in a post-Assad period, some say it is best to turn moderate opposition leaders into national leaders. "What we really need is to work with the most prominent and moderate leaders in the Free Syria Army to make them national leaders, to create a strong organization for them under political leadership," Rami Nakhla, executive director of the Istanbul-based Day After organization, which provides technical support for the Syrian Opposition Coalition, told the newspaper. "Even secular-minded people who acknowledge the jihadists are a potential threat to them say they're the only people who helped us and you didn't help us," Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, told the Post. "There is not much time left to demonstrate to Syrians that the U.S. was with them when they needed it most."