US to investigate claims of chemical weapon use in Syria

(Vatican Radio) US President Barack Obama has promised an investigation into reports that Syria has used chemical weapons, warning they will be a "game changer" for US policy if proven true. "We have varying degrees of confidence about the actual use, there's a range of questions about how, when, where these weapons have been used," President Obama said.

Some western experts claim that Syria has one of the world’s largest chemical weapons arsenals, including mustard gas and the toxic agent sarin. Production and stockpiling of sarin was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

Last week a senior Israeli military official said military intelligence believed the nerve agent sarin had probably been used "in a number of incidents".

The United Nations is currently investigating whether the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, but the investigation has been stalled because U.N. inspectors have not been able to conduct their investigation in Syria.

The mission’s advance team remains in Cyprus, after the Syrian foreign ministry said it would not admit a U.N. chemical weapons investigation team, despite having asked for it.

On March 20, the Syrian government asked the U.N. chief to set up an independent investigation into its claim that the armed opposition had used chemical weapons in the town of Khan al-Assal in the province of Aleppo.Syria has repeatedly said it would never use chemical weapons against its own citizens.

Meanwhile, UK PM David Cameron has expressed concern that international action in Syria may be being held back because of fears of a repeat of the Iraq war. "If anything, I would argue that because people are so worried about what happened in Iraq, it's actually quite important now to come forward - as the Americans have done and I think Barack Obama has done it in a very clear and measured way, Cameron said.

Listen to Nathan Morley's report: