US vows arms to Syria rebels; says Assad using chemicals

In its strongest response so far to the rebellion in Syria, the US today affirmed that the government of the Mediterranean country was using chemical weapons against the insurgents, and vowed to provide them military support.

The statement from the White House came as Syria's President Bashar Hafez al-Assad launched an assault on the historic city of Aleppo.

The response of the European Union was more muted; it said US allegations about the use of chemical weapons reinforced the need for UN inspectors to be deployed to Syria and for increased efforts to find a political solution to the conflict.

President Barack Obama's administration announced on Thursday that its intelligence agencies have concluded that Syrian regime forces used banned arms, including the infamous sarin nerve gas, in attacks that killed up to 150 people.

Officials refused to rule out moving towards arming anti-regime rebels or imposing a no-fly zone over Syria, saying it would provide backing to the armed wing of the main opposition, the National Coalition.

The opposition said in a statement issued by its US office that it "welcomes increased US assistance including direct military support".

"The support should be strategic and decisive in order to force an end to the violence and to achieve a political transition," it said.