Assad warns of 'regional war' if West takes military action
PARIS (AFP) - Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad warned Monday that Western military strikes would risk igniting a "regional war" in the "powder keg" of the Middle East, in an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro. He also said France would face "repercussions" if it took part in US-led plans for military action in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack by Assad's regime last month. "The Middle East is a powder keg, and the fuse is getting shorter," Assad told the newspaper's correspondent in Damascus, in a rare interview with Western media. "We cannot only talk about a Syrian response, but what could happen after the first strike. Nobody knows what will happen," Assad said. "Everyone will lose control of the situation once the powder keg explodes. Chaos and extremism will spread. There is a risk of regional war." Assad also said France, which has said it is prepared to back Washington in threatened military str...