Syria crisis: western troops 'increasingly likely' to intervene

Fears growing that violence will provoke wider conflict involving Iranian- and Saudi-backed forces, security experts warn

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 24 July 2012

"Western military intervention in the Syrian crisis is "looking increasingly likely" because the conflict is now in danger of provoking violence across the Arab world that could lead to cross-border invasions, a report has warned.

The study, by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), finds fears that President Assad's regime may turn to its stockpile of chemical weapons, or that these devices may be stolen in the chaos of the civil war. It says these concerns have intensified "the sense of imminent international conflict that is gripping the region".

The broader implications of the violence inside Syria are now of more concern to diplomats than the human misery inside the country, and these anxieties are making the west rethink its strategy of non-intervention, it reports......"