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Syrian rebels blast Russian offer on chemical arms

Rebel commander, Salim Idris, says regime officials should be referred to the International Criminal Court for the alleged chemical attack

APPTI Beirut

Syrian rebels have blasted the Russian proposal on securing their country's chemical weapons, saying that Bashar Assad's government should instead be made to face an international court for last month's attack near Damascus.

The top rebel commander, Gen. Salim Idris, says regime officials should be referred to the International Criminal Court for the alleged August 21 chemical attack near the Syrian capital that killed hundreds.

Idris, speaking for the Free Syrian Army, says "chemical weapons were the tool of the crime" in the attack in Ghouta suburb.

He says the FSA "categorically rejects the Russian initiative."

Idris' statement was broadcast today on pan-Arab satellite channels, hours ahead of talks in Geneva between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the Russian proposal.

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First Published: Sep 12 2013 | 3:48 PM IST

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