Assad slams Western accusation

DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said if the Western countries have evidence about his administration's involvement in a chemical gas attack, they would have declared it, according to the state-run SANA news agency.

"If the Americans, French or British have evidence about the alleged chemical weapon attack, they would have declared it," the president told Le Figaro in a recent interview whose excerpts were carried by SANA on Monday.

The full interview is planned to be fully published at late time Monday.

The remarks came amid the US threats to carry out a military operation against Syria, over an alleged use of chemical weapons against the Syrian people in the countryside of Damascus on August 21.