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| Syrian Rebels Say They Downed Helicopter Amid New Claims on Chemical Weapons | Syrian Rebels Say They Downed Helicopter Amid New Claims on Chemical Weapons |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian rebels said on Monday that they had shot down a government helicopter in the east of the country, killing eight security troops, as new accusations emerged that insurgents seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad may have used an illegal nerve agent in the country’s grinding civil war. The rebels denied the assertion. | BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian rebels said on Monday that they had shot down a government helicopter in the east of the country, killing eight security troops, as new accusations emerged that insurgents seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad may have used an illegal nerve agent in the country’s grinding civil war. The rebels denied the assertion. |
| The latest battlefield accounts, focusing on the east and north of the battered country, came after Mr. Assad’s government publicly assailed Israel for an air attack on military targets near Damascus, the capital, early on Sunday, saying the strike “opened the door to all possibilities,” deepening apprehension that the civil war could spill beyond Syria’s frontiers. | The latest battlefield accounts, focusing on the east and north of the battered country, came after Mr. Assad’s government publicly assailed Israel for an air attack on military targets near Damascus, the capital, early on Sunday, saying the strike “opened the door to all possibilities,” deepening apprehension that the civil war could spill beyond Syria’s frontiers. |
| Before the Israeli attack, a key question defining outside attitudes to the more than two-year-old conflict was whether chemical weapons had been used, drawing Western powers more directly into the war. Mr. Obama has said he would intervene only if it turned out that Syria had used chemical weapons or if such use was imminent. | Before the Israeli attack, a key question defining outside attitudes to the more than two-year-old conflict was whether chemical weapons had been used, drawing Western powers more directly into the war. Mr. Obama has said he would intervene only if it turned out that Syria had used chemical weapons or if such use was imminent. |
| But there have been separate claims that the insurgents, backed by many Western and some key Arab nations, have used chemical weapons. | But there have been separate claims that the insurgents, backed by many Western and some key Arab nations, have used chemical weapons. |
| In an interview over the weekend with Swiss-Italian television, Carla del Ponte, one of the leading figures in a Geneva-based United Nations investigation, said there were strong suspicions that the rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s overthrow had themselves used sarin, a nerve agent, but there was no “incontrovertible proof” that they had. | In an interview over the weekend with Swiss-Italian television, Carla del Ponte, one of the leading figures in a Geneva-based United Nations investigation, said there were strong suspicions that the rebels seeking Mr. Assad’s overthrow had themselves used sarin, a nerve agent, but there was no “incontrovertible proof” that they had. |
| “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals,” she said, and “according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.” | “Our investigators have been in neighboring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals,” she said, and “according to their report of last week which I have seen, there are strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof of the use of sarin gas, from the way the victims were treated.” |
| “This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added. She did not elaborate on where the chemicals might have been used. Ms. del Ponte is one of four investigators mandated by the 47-nation United Nations Human Rights Council in August 2011 to report periodically on the Syrian situation. Their next report is set for publication in late May, officials in Geneva said, but it was not immediately clear whether it would document findings relating to chemical weapons. | “This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities,” she added. She did not elaborate on where the chemicals might have been used. Ms. del Ponte is one of four investigators mandated by the 47-nation United Nations Human Rights Council in August 2011 to report periodically on the Syrian situation. Their next report is set for publication in late May, officials in Geneva said, but it was not immediately clear whether it would document findings relating to chemical weapons. |
| It was also unclear whether Ms. del Ponte was speaking on behalf of all four investigators. | It was also unclear whether Ms. del Ponte was speaking on behalf of all four investigators. |
| The insurgents called the reported findings of the investigation a “big lie.” | The insurgents called the reported findings of the investigation a “big lie.” |
| Maj. Gen. Adnan Sillo, a defector from the Syrian military who had previously headed a chemical warfare unit, said Ms. del Ponte’s accusation came at a time when Syria had already crossed the “red line” laid down by President Obama as a warning to Mr. Assad not to deploy such weapons. | Maj. Gen. Adnan Sillo, a defector from the Syrian military who had previously headed a chemical warfare unit, said Ms. del Ponte’s accusation came at a time when Syria had already crossed the “red line” laid down by President Obama as a warning to Mr. Assad not to deploy such weapons. |
| “This claim is a big lie,” he said. | “This claim is a big lie,” he said. |
| “The Syrian regime has used the chemical weapons against civilians many times,” most recently near Idlib in the north of the country, he said. “And there is no doubt that the regime will use it more often as this is its strategy in the war since the beginning of oppressing the uprising, to move gradually.” | “The Syrian regime has used the chemical weapons against civilians many times,” most recently near Idlib in the north of the country, he said. “And there is no doubt that the regime will use it more often as this is its strategy in the war since the beginning of oppressing the uprising, to move gradually.” |
| The dispute over chemical weapons came as the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain and draws information from a network of activists within Syria, posted video on Monday showing combatants standing in front of what appeared to be the wreckage of a helicopter. | The dispute over chemical weapons came as the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in Britain and draws information from a network of activists within Syria, posted video on Monday showing combatants standing in front of what appeared to be the wreckage of a helicopter. |
| The Observatory said eight government troops were aboard the helicopter when it came down in the east of the country. The claim was significant since air power has given Mr. Assad’s forces a significant edge, prompting the insurgents action against both aircraft and air bases. | The Observatory said eight government troops were aboard the helicopter when it came down in the east of the country. The claim was significant since air power has given Mr. Assad’s forces a significant edge, prompting the insurgents action against both aircraft and air bases. |
| On Sunday, the Observatory said, rebel forces occupied part of the Mannagh military air base in northern Syria near the border with Turkey after days of clashes, prompting renewed airstrikes by government forces seeking to dislodge them. | On Sunday, the Observatory said, rebel forces occupied part of the Mannagh military air base in northern Syria near the border with Turkey after days of clashes, prompting renewed airstrikes by government forces seeking to dislodge them. |
| The claims relating to both the use of sarin gas and the shooting down of the helicopter could not be immediately corroborated because of restrictions on independent reporting in Syria. | The claims relating to both the use of sarin gas and the shooting down of the helicopter could not be immediately corroborated because of restrictions on independent reporting in Syria. |
Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, Lebanon, and Alan Cowell from London. Karam Shoumali contributed reporting from | Anne Barnard reported from Beirut, Lebanon, and Alan Cowell from London. Karam Shoumali contributed reporting from Antakya, Turkey. |