‘No doubt’ that Syria has retained chemical weapons, says Mattis

US defence secretary General Jim Mattis warns Syrian regime not to contemplate using chemical weapons again.

US defence secretary Jim Mattis, centre, accompanied by Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, second right, is greeted by an Israeli military officer at the defence ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel,Show more

TEL AVIV // Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said during a visit to Israel on Friday that there can be “no doubt” that Syria has retained some chemical weapons and warned president Bashar Al Assad’s regime not to use them.

Speaking during a press conference with Israeli defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, Mr Mattis declined to comment on the number of weapons Washington believes Syria has retained.

US President Donald Trump’s administration dropped Tomahawk missiles earlier this month on an airbase in Syria in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack on Khan Sheikhoun, a town in Idlib province held by rebels.

“The bottom line is there can be no doubt in the international community’s mind that Syria has retained chemical weapons in violation of its agreement and its statement that it had removed them all,” General Mattis said.

“It’s a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, and it’s going to have to be taken up diplomatically, and they’d be ill-advised to try to use any again. We’ve made that very clear with our strike.”

An Israeli assessment has found that the Assad regime was still in possession of “a few tonnes” of chemical weapons, a military official confirmed.

President Al Assad, backed by his ally, Russia, has strongly denied the allegation that his forces used chemical weapons against rebel-held Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, describing it as a “100 per cent fabrication”.

He has said repeatedly that his forces turned over all chemical weapons stockpiles in 2013, under a deal brokered by Russia to avoid threatened US military action.

The agreement was later enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution.

Turning to the issue of North Korea, Gen Mattis said Pyongyang had made “provocative” comments but added that they had also been dishonest.

“They’ve not lived up to any statements they’ve made in the past years, decades actually, about stopping their ballistic missile and their nuclear programmes,” Gen Mattis said. “So I would just take their words at the same value we’ve always given them as we’ve learnt not to trust them.”

North Korea is seeking to develop a long-range missile capable of hitting the US mainland with a nuclear warhead, and has so far staged five nuclear tests, two of them last year.

Vice President Mike Pence vowed on Wednesday that the United States would counter any North Korean attack with an “overwhelming and effective” response.

* Agence France-Presse.