Nations ‘sowing chaos’ will suffer, says Assad
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said on Wednesday that countries trying to “sow chaos” in Syria could be infected with it themselves, an apparent warning to Arab Gulf nations that back the insurgency aimed at forcing him from power. Assad’s remarks, to a Russian TV channel, came after UN staff monitoring an increasingly shaky ceasefire were caught up in an attack that killed at least 21 people, and had to spend a night with rebel forces. A Washington Post report on Wednesday said the rebels battling the government are beginning to get more and better weapons in an effort paid for by Gulf nations and coordinated partly by the United States. Assad said Syrians showed in elections this month that they support the government’s policy of reform and a majority backs the government. Six members of a UN observer team which came under bomb attack were forced to stay the night with anti-government activists in the northwest town of Khan Sheikhun. In a related development, activists said troops launched deadly raids in northwest and south Syria on Wednesday as a prominent dissident resigned from the Syrian National Council......
