US has evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria: Barack Obama

Zee Media Bureau

Washington: US President Barack Obama has said that his country has seen evidence of chemical weapons being used in Syria. Obama made the revelation after meeting Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday. However, the US President insisted it was significant to get more specific details about alleged chemical attacks, reports the BBC. Earlier, a BBC reporter was told by residents of Saraqeb, the north Syrian town near Aleppo, that how government forces had dropped poisonous gas canisters on them from helicopters in an attack on April 29. The Syrian government has, however, repeatedly denied claims it has used chemical agents. On Thursday, Obama said: "Our militaries are constantly sharing information. We have seen evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside Syria…Those chemical weapons inside of Syria also threaten our security over the long term as well as [that of] our allies and friends and neighbours." However, he added that "more specific information" was needed. The UN estimates that two years of conflict in Syria has left over 80,000 people dead.