Al-Qaeda could access Syria’s chemical weapons: King Abdullah

By Areeb Hasni Jul 19th, 2012 ( No Comment )

Amman: Jordan’s King Abdullah has warned that the situation in Syria seems to be spinning out of control and in a worst case scenario the al-Qaeda militant group could get its hands on some of the regime’s chemical weapons, media reported on Wednesday.

Talking to CNN, the King said that the information gathered by intelligence agaencies indicate the presence of al-Qaeda in certain regions inside Syria, and has been there for a while.

“And, again, one of the worst case scenarios as we are obviously trying to look for a political solution would be if some of those chemical stockpiles were to fall into unfriendly hands,” he warned.

The Jordanian king told the U.S. news network the attack was a serious blow to the regime, but played down speculation that its collapse was imminent.

“Definitely this shows some cracks in the system, but again, I don’t think we should jump to any conclusion writing the regime off in the near future,” he said, while warning that time was running out for a political solution.

“I think as we continue to pursue the political option, the realities on the ground may have overtaken us. Therefore I think the clock is ticking,” he said.

“I think we should continue to give politics its due. But if we haven’t already passed that window, I think we’re getting very close to it.”

“If it breaks down, if civil order breaks down to the point of no return, then it will take years to fix Syria. And I have a feeling we’re seeing signs of that over the past three weeks,” he warned.

“The only people that can bring us back from that brink are obviously the president and the regime. And I believe this is the last chance that they have,” he said.

It is to be mentioned that the killing of Bashar-al-Assad’s brother-in-law Asef Shawkat, defence minister Daoud Rajiha and two other top aides has caused a major blow to the regime. Independent analyst have said that the murder of the top four aides would possibly provide rebels a chance to overthrow Assad regime.

According to estimates, more than 17,000 people have been killed in Syria after the popular uprising against the Assad regime.