Syria chemical arms tested on civilians? Report of mutilated bodies in Sudan where U.S. says genocide underway ------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: September 15, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Syria, which has long denied maintaining a chemical or biological weapons arsenal, reportedly tested chemical weapons on civilians in Sudan's troubled western Darfur region in June, killing dozens of people. Injuries caused by chemical arms were found on the bodies of the victims, according to unnamed sources quoted by the German daily Die Welt newspaper and witnesses who talked with the Arab news ILAF last month. Several frozen bodies arrived suddenly at the "Al-Fashr Hospital" in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in June, reported ILAF. Die Welt said its sources had indicated the weapons tests were undertaken following a military exercise between Syria and Sudan after a meeting in May between Sudanese military leaders and Syrian officers in a Khartoum suburb to discuss the possibility of improving coordination between their armies. After the Syrians reportedly suggested close cooperation on developing chemical weapons, it was proposed that the arms be tested on the rebel SPLA, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, in the south. The Sudanese government then allegedly requested testing the chemicals on people in Darfur since they were involved in peace talks with the rebels. As WorldNetDaily reported, the U.S. declared last week the rape, pillaging and slaughter of blacks in western Sudan by the Islamist Khartoum regime and its Arab militia allies is genocide, under the 1948 U.N. convention. The reports are extremely damaging to Syria's Bashar Assad, who has been under international pressure after the recent passing of the Syrian Accountability Act in Congress, which accuses Damascus of supporting terror groups including Hezbollah, failing to stop anti-U.S. fighters from crossing into Iraq from Syria and maintaining 25,000 troops in Lebanon. The White House also has accused Syria of having one of the most advanced chemical weapons programs in the Arab world, with stocks of the agents Sarin and VX. Assad has drawn the ire of Israel as well for allowing the top leadership of Hamas to live openly in Damascus. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon blamed Syria, which harbors the overall leader of Hamas, Khalid Meshel, for a recent suicide bombing that killed 16 people in a southern Israeli city, and several Israeli officials have said the Jewish state plans to send a strong message to Assad. In a recent WorldNetDaily exclusive interview, Syria's Ambassador to the UN Fayssel Mekdad denied his country has chemical weapons. "These are mere allegations and they cannot be substantiated," he said. Mekdad also denied allegations Syria is aiding the insurgency against American troops in Iraq by allowing terrorists to pass through the Syrian border. "I mean, not a single proof was given to Syria that we have helped, aided or supported elements that are carrying out attacks, or even giving them information from the Syrian side. I would like to confirm 100 percent for this interview that Syria has done nothing at all, and not a single proof has been given to us, not a single one," said Mekdad. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Aaron Klein is WorldNetDaily's special Middle East correspondent, whose past interview subjects have included Yasser Arafat, Ehud Barak, Shlomo Ben Ami and leaders of the Taliban. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40454 A related article: Syria hiding Iraq WMDs http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36463
