Assad blasts West claims of chemical weapons in Syria as 'pretext to wage war'

Syrian president Bashar Assad has said that claims of the West that the Syrian government used weapons of mass destruction against its countrymen are nothing but a pretext for waging war against Syria.

The statement comes after US, Britain and Israel strongly put forth their opinions that there is evidence of chemical weapons being used in Syria, News 24 reports.

However, Assad said that the West lies and forges evidence as a prelude to wage war as this is the tradition they follow, adding that their accusations are inconsistent.

Assad also said that he does not completely rule out probabilities of Western war against Syria.

While rebel fighters claim that they have seized several villages loyal to Assad in Hama in central Syria, Assad vowed that he will never resign and said he was willing to negotiate an end to the conflict but not with the rebels, whom he termed as 'terrorists'.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that the villages that were seized by the Sunni rebels, who forced an exodus from the villages, were mainly inhabited by Alawites, a Shi'ite Muslim sect to which Assad belongs.