BERLIN, Sept 14 (AFP) -- Syria tested chemical weapons on civilians in Sudan's troubled western Darfur region in June and killed dozens of people, the German daily Die Welt claimed in an advance release of its Wednesday edition.
The newspaper, citing unnamed western security sources, said that injuries apparently caused by chemical arms were found on the bodies of the victims.
It said that witnesses quoted by an Arabic news website called ILAF [www.elaph.com] in an article on August 2 had said that several frozen bodies arrived suddenly at the "Al-Fashr Hospital" in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in June.
Die Welt said the sources had indicated that the weapons tests were undertaken following a military exercise between Syria and Sudan.
Syrian officers were reported to have met in May with Sudanese military leaders in a Khartoum suburb to discuss the possibility of improving cooperation between their armies.
According to Die Welt, the Syrians had suggested close cooperation on developing chemical weapons, and it was proposed that the arms be tested on the rebel SPLA, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, in the south.
But given that the rebels were involved in peace talks, the newspaper continued, the Sudanese government proposed testing the arms on people in Darfur.
Details of what were in the weapons were not disclosed.
How were chemical weapons and the Syrians that administered them transported to Sudan? Die Welt says "at least five airplanes of the Syrian civilian airline Syrian Arab Airlines flew from Damascus to Khartoum, carrying specialists from the Syrian academy for chemical warfare with technical equipment on board." A little digging at DARPA TIDES does indeed reveal (Asharq al-Awsat, April 11) the involvement of Syrian civilian aircraft in the transfer of chemical weapons from Syria to Sudan. However, based upon Asharq al-Awsat's reportage, it appears the five Syrian Arab Airline planes reported by Die Welt were but the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in a months-long Damascus WMD and Scud missile smuggling operation using civilian aircraft which began in January, 2004.
According to some western intelligence sources, Syria has been smuggling for months some of its Weapons of Mass Destruction to Sudan. These weapons were being transported in civilian planes. The same sources indicated that the alleged smuggling was taking place on the basis of a coordinated operation between the Syrian government and "companies" in Khartoum, without the knowledge of the Sudanese President, Umar al-Bashir.
The same sources added that the freight operation is part of attempts made by Damascus to avoid the possibility of discovering its presumed weapons, bearing in mind that the Syrian government is currently subjected to US and European intermittent pressure to follow in the steps of Libya and abandon such weapons.
The same [western] sources alleged, according to what has been reported in the "Middle East online" website, that Damascus has been pursuing since last January, at least, the transfer of Scud missiles parts, of "C" and "D" types. This is in addition to shipping to Khartoum components used in the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
According to the same intelligence sources, these consignments are transported in civilian planes bound for the Sudanese capital where they are kept in special warehouses. The same sources alleged that the Syrian military authorities "directly supervise" this shipment operation.
Babel Fish translation of Die Welt's 'Syrien testet chemische Waffen an Sudanern':
Syria tests chemical weapons at Sudanern
Secret services: Dozens of victims
Jacques shoemaker
Berlin--Syrian special units used chemical weapons in the June of this yearly against the Black African population of Darfur. The action, with which dozens of humans died, took place in arrangement with the Sudanese government. To this conclusion western secret services come. They are supported by reports by eye-witnesses, who were published in different Arab media.
If one follows the documents of western intelligence services, which are present the WORLD, Syrian officers met this yearly in a suburb of Khartoum in May with representatives of the Sudanese army. With the discussions it concerned the question, how one can expand military co-operation. After secret service information the Syrian delegation is to have offered a closer co-operation in the area of the chemical war guidance to the Sudan. , so the sources further, was suggested examining the effect of the chemical agents at the rebels the Sudan People's liberation Army (SPLA). Since Khartoum was in May in peace negotiations with the rebels, the Sudanese delegation guessed/advised obviously to test the agents at the Black African population. In addition at least five airplanes of the Syrian civil airline Syrian Arab airlines from Damascus flew to Khartoum, on board specialists of the Syrian university for chemical war guidance including technical equipment.
When the employment in Darfur began, cannot be determined exactly. However report Sudanese eye-witnesses in an article of the Arab Website "Ilaf" of the 2. August of strange procedures in Khartoums aluminum chamfering HR hospital. In June several dozen of frozen corpses was brought abruptly in the hospital. They would have exhibited strange injuries at the whole body. After short time Sudanese soldiers are to have locked a wing off of the building. If one believes the witnesses, the entrance thereafter an unknown Syrian physician team would have been only permitted. After days Sudanese forces would have removed the bodies.
Military experts already for some time possess information about a Sudanese-Syrian co-operation in the area of the chemistry weapon research. Also reports of Syrian oppositionals become again and again admit, whom of test in corroding of chemical weapons at prisoners report.
The Dafur rebels are no threat to Syria...The alarming question arises -- who is the real target of Syria's chemical weapons?
There is only one common enemy of the Islamic fundamentalist government of Sudan and the Socialist government of Syria. Sudan's brand of Islam supports terror networks which have attacked the U.S. Syria has a long anti-American record, first as an ally of the Soviet Union and then as a close friend of Russia and China. Syria also is cooperating on weapons development with the Stalinist state of North Korea.
Syria has aided the terror movement in post-Saddam Iraq, while its President has said that he doubts the existence of the Al-Qaeda terror network.
The chemical horror wreaked upon Dafur may well be a dress rehearsal for a sophisticated chemical terror assault on the United States.
The Israelis, along with allied troops in Iraq, would also rank high on a list of possible Syrian chem targets.
