Syria will ‘use its chemical weapons on foreign threat’

Syria acknowledged for the first time that it had chemical and biological weapons, saying they could be used if the country faced foreign intervention.

International pressure on president Bashar al-Assad has escalated dramatically in the last week with a rebel offensive in the two biggest cities and a devastating bomb attack which killed four members of his inner circle in Damascus.

Assad’s forces have launched fierce counter-offensives, reflecting his determination to hold on to power even at great cost and he has dismissed an Arab offer to grant him a safe exit in return for a swift step down.