Assad will never give up chemical stockpile, says defected Syrian General

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will never give up his chemical stockpile, a defected General from the war-torn country has said.

Syrian Brigadier General Zaher al-Sakat told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that the locations of most of the scientific research centers in Syria and the storage facilities are known and under surveillance, thus, he will give up those centers and facilities for sure without lying.

Al-Sakat said that he defected from the Syrian military after he was ordered to use chemical agents, adding that he swapped the chemicals out for something non-toxic to fool his commanders.

He said that in addition to four secret locations within Syria, the regime is currently transferring chemical weapons to Iraq and Lebanon.

Lebanon and Iraq denied the claims at the time, and CNN's Barbara Starr reported that, if true, the allegation would fundamentally shift the assessments of U.S. intelligence officials.

According to the report, the chemical al-Sakat was ordered to use, he said, was not sarin, which was used in the now-infamous August 21 attack outside Damascus, but phosgene, a chemical first used in WWI that causes severe respiratory problems.

al-Sakat claimed that he was given the order to use chemical weapons by his direct commander, but lays ultimate blame at the feet of Assad.