Syrian government approaching collapse: Nato chief

The head of NATO said on Thursday he thought the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was nearing collapse, even as he condemned the use by Assad's forces of Scud missiles to attack rebels.

"I think the regime in Damascus is approaching collapse," NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters after a meeting with Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

"I think now it is only a question of time." Rasmussen said the Syrian government's use of Scud missiles showed "utter disregard" for the lives of Syrian people.