Syrian soldiers: We fear the rebels, not the Americans

In government-held parts of Damascus, American threats have caused widespread fear, but Syrian soldiers say the bombs are not what scares them most.

Government soldiers told Reuters that the American strike didn’t scare them so much as a rebel surge in the aftermath of the bombs.

“I’m more afraid now than I was ever when we fought in Qusair or Khalidiyeh,” said Saleem, a government militia fighter, referring to some of the most hard-fought battles of the past six months in an interview with the news wire.

“If a foreign strike comes and the rebels manage to intensify their operations simultaneously, that’s a whole new level of combat. I’m still more scared of rebel mortars than US cruise missiles.”

I’m still more scared of rebel mortars than US cruise missiles – Syrian soldier

Reports that a largely Christian village near Damascus had been retaken by rebels on Saturday night were contested by the state media but show the fragility of the power balance in the region.

A punitive strike?

Meanwhile John Kerry, US secretary of state, kept open the option for a punitive strike on President Assad’s forces as he tried to rally support for military action from EU and Arab states.

He said not only would the US target chemical weapons bases, but that the strike would “deter” Assad from using them again.

“What we are talking about here is a limited military action, one that is aimed squarely at degrading Assad’s capacity to use chemical weapons and deterring him from using them again.”

William Hague, the UK’s Foreign Secretary reiterated today that “deterrence” would be a big part of any military action.

“What the United States has been talking about, what we were talking about before the vote in parliament, was a limited and proportionate response to the use of chemical weapons to try to deter the use of chemical weapons.”

Even a small strike could shake President Assad’s fragile hold over certain areas including Damascus. And with his 180,000 troops spread across the country, a tip in the balance of power could open up swathes to more bitter fighting.

Britain sold chemicals to Syria

Elsewhere, it was reported that British companies were delivering a key ingredient of poison gas sarin – sodium fluoride – to Syria as late as late 2010. The chemical was sold to cosmetic companies for seemingly legitimate reasons.

However, licences granted by the department of business, development and skills to sell sodium fluoride were not delivered upon in 2011, after the Syrian Civil War broke out in March of that year.

Over 100,000 people have been killed in Syria’s two year war.