Syria 'has used chemical weapons'
Mr Hagel, speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, says the White House has informed two senators by letter that, within the past day, ``our intelligence community does assess, with varying degrees of confidence, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin.''
The UN General Assembly reprimanded Syria for its use of heavy weaponry against its civilians in a largely symbolic vote that comes as relief agencies warn of a growing humanitarian catastrophe inside the Arab country.