Bombed Syrian plant 'was nuclear facility site' says energy agency
THE head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has said for the first time that a target destroyed by Israeli warplanes in the Syrian desert in 2007 was the covert site of a future nuclear reactor, countering assertions by Syria that it had no atomic secrets.
The comments came as forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad continued their punitive crackdown on civilians calling for an end to his authoritian 11-year rule.
Regime forces with tanks began moving in to the city of Latakia yesterday and heavy firing was reported in the city of Daraa, the seat of opposition to President Assad.
In addition, the Damascus suburb of Douma - another hotbed of opposition - was reported to be under a state of siege, with roadblocks around it, and even newly-erected sand barriers.
Previous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency have suggested that the structure destroyed by Israel could have been a nuclear reactor. Yesterday's comments by IAEA chief Yukiya Amano were the first time the agency has said so unequivocally. Mr Amano spoke during a Paris news conference meant to focus on the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
"The facility that was ... destroyed by Israel was a nuclear reactor under construction," he told a full news conference. "It was a reactor under construction."
Israel has never publicly commented on the strike or even acknowledged carrying it out.
• Analysis: IAEA confirmation vindicates Israel's strike
The US has shared intelligence with the agency that identifies the structure as a nearly completed nuclear reactor that, if finished, would have been able to produce plutonium for the fissile core of nuclear warheads.
Syria denies allegations of any covert nuclear activity or interest in developing nuclear arms. Its refusal to allow IAEA inspectors new access to the bombed Al Kibar desert site past a visit three years ago has heightened suspicions that it had something to hide, along with its decision to level the destroyed structure and later build over it.
Drawing on the 2008 visit by its inspectors, the IAEA determined that the destroyed building's size and structure fit specifications that a North Korean-model reactor would have had. The site also contained graphite and natural uranium particles that could be linked to nuclear activities.
The movement by regime forces yesterday into Latakia is significant because the province has strong historical ties to Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Latakia is home to a diverse mix of religious groups, with mostly Sunni Muslims in the urban core and Alawites in the countryside. A sizeable majority of Syrians are Sunni.
In Daraa yesterday, eyewitnesses reported clashes between Syrian army units over the crackdown.
Regime forces with tanks began moving in to the city of Latakia yesterday and heavy firing was reported in the city of Daraa, the seat of opposition to President Assad.
In addition, the Damascus suburb of Douma - another hotbed of opposition - was reported to be under a state of siege, with roadblocks around it, and even newly-erected sand barriers.
Previous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency have suggested that the structure destroyed by Israel could have been a nuclear reactor. Yesterday's comments by IAEA chief Yukiya Amano were the first time the agency has said so unequivocally. Mr Amano spoke during a Paris news conference meant to focus on the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
"The facility that was ... destroyed by Israel was a nuclear reactor under construction," he told a full news conference. "It was a reactor under construction."
Israel has never publicly commented on the strike or even acknowledged carrying it out.
• Analysis: IAEA confirmation vindicates Israel's strike
The US has shared intelligence with the agency that identifies the structure as a nearly completed nuclear reactor that, if finished, would have been able to produce plutonium for the fissile core of nuclear warheads.
Syria denies allegations of any covert nuclear activity or interest in developing nuclear arms. Its refusal to allow IAEA inspectors new access to the bombed Al Kibar desert site past a visit three years ago has heightened suspicions that it had something to hide, along with its decision to level the destroyed structure and later build over it.
Drawing on the 2008 visit by its inspectors, the IAEA determined that the destroyed building's size and structure fit specifications that a North Korean-model reactor would have had. The site also contained graphite and natural uranium particles that could be linked to nuclear activities.
The movement by regime forces yesterday into Latakia is significant because the province has strong historical ties to Assad's minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Latakia is home to a diverse mix of religious groups, with mostly Sunni Muslims in the urban core and Alawites in the countryside. A sizeable majority of Syrians are Sunni.
In Daraa yesterday, eyewitnesses reported clashes between Syrian army units over the crackdown.
The majority of troops in the Syrian army are Sunni, but most officers belong to the Alawite sect.
One diplomat said soldiers had confronted secret police at least once this month to stop them shooting at protesters.
"No one is saying that Assad is about to lose control of the army, but once you start using the army to slaughter your own people, it is a sign of weakness," he said.
Syria says dozens of soldiers and police have been killed in the unrest - which it blames on armed Islamist groups - and state television has broadcast many funerals, but diplomats say some have been killed by President Assad's own forces.
"The largest funerals in Syria so far have been for soldiers who have refused to obey orders to shoot protesters and were summarily executed on the spot," a senior diplomat said.
Mr Assad sent the ultra-loyal Fourth Mechanised Division, commanded by his brother Maher, into Deraa on Monday.
The Syrian rights group Sawasiah yesterday said the death toll in the six weeks of protests had risen to at least 500.
One diplomat said soldiers had confronted secret police at least once this month to stop them shooting at protesters.
"No one is saying that Assad is about to lose control of the army, but once you start using the army to slaughter your own people, it is a sign of weakness," he said.
Syria says dozens of soldiers and police have been killed in the unrest - which it blames on armed Islamist groups - and state television has broadcast many funerals, but diplomats say some have been killed by President Assad's own forces.
"The largest funerals in Syria so far have been for soldiers who have refused to obey orders to shoot protesters and were summarily executed on the spot," a senior diplomat said.
Mr Assad sent the ultra-loyal Fourth Mechanised Division, commanded by his brother Maher, into Deraa on Monday.
The Syrian rights group Sawasiah yesterday said the death toll in the six weeks of protests had risen to at least 500.
Analysis: IAEA confirmation vindicates Israel's strike
Key line:
Israel's decision to act swiftly and alone four years ago has undoubtedly done the world a favour.
Do you think this would have come out if that Jew hating bastard ElBaradei were still at the IAEA?
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