Obama warns Syria over chemical weapons

Obama said 'a red line for us is we start seeing ... chemical weapons moving around or being utilised'

Barack Obama has warned that US forces could move against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad if he deploys chemical weapons against rebels trying to overthrow him. The US president's comments came as a female Japanese reporter was killed while covering clashes in the northern city of Aleppo. In some of his strongest language yet on Syria, Obama told a White House news conference on Monday that Assad faced "enormous consequences" if he crossed a "red line" of even moving unconventional weapons in a threatening manner. Obama noted that he had refrained "at this point" from ordering US military engagement, but when he was asked at a whether he might deploy forces, for example to secure Syrian chemical and biological weapons, he said his view could change. "We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilised," he said. "That would change my calculus." 'Wrong hands' Faced with a complex and explosive conflict, and with resolute support for Assad from Iran, and from Russia and China at the UN, Washington and its Western allies have shown little appetite for more than hands-off help for the rebels. The stance is in contrast to their attacks on Libya's Muammar Gaddafi last year. Last month, Syria acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical and biological weapons and said it could use them if foreign countries intervened. The threat drew strong warnings from Washington and its allies, although it is not clear how the Syrian armed forces might use such weapons in urban warfare. "We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people," Obama told the impromptu news conference on Monday. He acknowledged he was not "absolutely confident" the stockpile was secure.