Syria army 'preparing for the worst'

The Syrian army is preparing for all eventualities should the West launches missile strikes against the country, a security official said Thursday.

   

"We are working, like all the armies of the world, on worst-case scenarios. We are taking measures to protect the country from a strike and preparing the conditions for an adequate response," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

   

The West is drawing up a possible military response -- likely to be limited missile strikes -- to a suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus last week that activists say killed hundreds of people.

   

"The army is being threatened, so it is normal that we take measures to confront the attack and respond to the aggression," the Syrian official said.

   

On Wednesday, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halki accused the West of inventing excuses to intervene and warned that the country would become the "graveyard of the invaders".

 

- Sapa-AFP