Erdogan slams Syria regime over alleged chemical weapons use

Turkish prime minister strongly criticized Syrian regime over its accusations that Turkey shared responsibility in an alleged chemical weapons attack in the northern city of Aleppo for which Damascus and rebels put the blame on each other.

"Turkey has never been in a position to use chemical weapons. And there are no such munitions in our weapons arsenal. This act (using chemical weapons) suits Syria just fine. Syria had targeted in the past and it continues to target its own people with chemical weapons," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.

Syrian regime claimed that rebels used chemical weapons in an attack early on Tuesday on Khan al-Assal village near Aleppo that killed 31 people, including 21 civilians and 10 soldiers.

Rebels denied the accusation, blaming the pro-regime forces for firing chemical weapons.

There was no independent confirmation that chemical weapons were used in the attack on Khan al-Assal.

According to a Syrian state television report, Omran al-Zoubi, Syria's information minister, has said Turkey and Qatar bore "legal, moral and political responsibility" for the attack.

"The Syrian regime has no idea what it is saying about Turkey. The regime continues its defamation campaign. This is showing the character and the nature of the Syrian regime," Erdogan said.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013