( CNN ) -- NATO foreign ministers have approved Turkey 's request for Patriot missiles to defend its borders , a statement of `` solidarity '' with its fellow alliance member . `` Today NATO agreed to augment Turkey 's air defense by deploying Patriot missiles to Turkey . Turkey has asked for NATO 's support and we stand with Turkey in the spirit of strong solidarity , '' said NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen . `` To Turkish people we say , we are determined to defend you and your territory . To anyone who would want to attack Turkey , we say , do n't even think about it. `` The move is in response to the spilling over of the Syrian civil war into Turkey , where errant Syrian artillery shells struck the border town of Akcakale and killed five Turkish civilians in October . Turkey asked NATO to deploy Patriot missiles along its border to bolster its air defenses against Syrian threats . Syrian family hides from attacks in underground 'prison ' The United States , Germany and Netherlands , which all have Patriot capabilities , have signaled they would be willing to contribute missiles . Rasmussen believes the `` actual deployment will take place within weeks . '' `` We welcome the intention of Germany , the Netherlands and the United States to provide Patriot missile batteries , subject to their respective national procedures . These systems will be under the operational command of the Supreme Allied Commander Europe . Any deployment will be defensive only . It will in no way support a no-fly zone or any offensive operation , '' Rasmussen said . The decision was made as news surfaced about fears of Bashar al-Assad 's government using chemical weapons . Rasmussen echoed warnings from U.S. President Barack Obama that the Syrian government may be toying with the idea of using chemical weapons to crush the 21-month rebellion . `` The Syrian stockpiles of chemical weapons are a matter of great concern , '' Rasmussen told reporters . `` We know that Syria possesses missiles . We know they have chemical weapons and , of course , they also have to be included in our calculations . And this is also the reason why it is a matter of urgency to ensure effective defense and protection of our ally Turkey , '' he said . Opinion : Rape is shredding Syria 's social fabric . `` Let me add to this that the possible use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable for the whole international community , and if anybody resorts to these terrible weapons I would expect an immediate reaction from the international community . '' Violence raged Tuesday in Syria , with at least 155 people killed across the country , the opposition Local Coordination Committees of Syria said . In one key development , rebel fighters scored a major gain where government forces once ruled . The rebels have cut off a sprawling military base outside Aleppo with some 450 government soldiers trapped inside . The rebels could easily overrun the base , fighter Ali Jadlan said , but they want to give government soldiers a chance to defect . Already , about 250 soldiers have defected from units at the base since the Syrian uprising began in 2011 , and most of them have joined the opposition . It 's another indication al-Assad is losing his grip on a country he once firmly commanded . As fighting subsides , Aleppo residents find little left . The government has tried air-dropping food to its soldiers , often missing the targets . Opposition fighters have shot out their water supply . While the soldiers still have stockpiles of artillery , their options are dwindling . `` They have reached a point where they think that they ca n't go back , '' said Jamal , a defector . `` They have reached a dead end . Slowly , they are weakening . '' In another incident , rebels and the government are reporting deadly shelling on a school in a refugee camp in the Damascus area . The LCC said 30 students were killed there . Alexia Jade , a spokeswoman for the opposition in Damascus , said the school was `` showered by mortars leaving between eight and 12 dead , including children and a teacher . '' `` I can not say if this area was state loyal , '' she said , adding it was very remote and inhabited by refugees from the Golan Heights whose kin had suffered from government shelling in the south of the capital . `` We have not reached a concrete conclusion at this point '' about who fired the shells , Jade added . Syrian refugees face brutal winter with inadequate shelter and food . Rasmussen stressed that a Patriot missile deployment will be `` purely defensive '' and that NATO has `` no intention to prepare offensive operations . '' The deployment would be an `` effective deterrent '' and de-escalate tensions along the border , he said . Such a deployment would compel `` any potential aggressor to think twice before they even consider attacking Turkey . '' A Russian official , speaking with CNN on background , claimed the Patriot systems are more symbolic than militarily necessary . Russia has been a friend of the Syrian government over the years and has blocked tough action against the al-Assad government in the U.N. Security Council . Echoing comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin , the official said Syria has no interest in attacking Turkey . Concern over the issue has rippled across the world . French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said before NATO moved on the issue that deploying Patriot missiles is a `` good decision . We shall support it. `` He noted `` many attacks by Syria against Turkish borders . '' `` Turkey has asked for protection , '' he said . `` We are deciding to grant this protection through Patriot missiles . '' As for the chemical weapons issue , the Syrian Foreign Ministry denied that the country has any plans to use such arms , state TV reported . The government has also repeatedly stressed it will not use such weapons , if they exist , against its people under any circumstances . But U.S. officials say `` worrying signs '' suggest otherwise . Syrian forces have started combining chemicals that could be used to make deadly sarin gas for weapons to attack rebel and civilian populations , one U.S. official said . The intelligence , obtained over the weekend , the official said , came from multiple sources . But the official declined to provide more details about how the United States learned of it . Sarin gas , the source said , could most readily be used to fill artillery shells . Obama said Monday that `` the use of chemical weapons is and would be totally unacceptable . And if you make the tragic mistake of using these weapons , there will be consequences , and you will be held accountable . '' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel and the world community are `` closely monitoring the developments in Syria regarding the stockpiles of chemical weapons . '' `` I heard the important things President Obama said on this matter , we are of a single mind . It is forbidden to use these weapons and it should be forbidden to pass them on to terror elements , '' he said . U.S. concerned Syria 'cooking up recipes ' for chemical weapons . CNN 's Arwa Damon , Nick Paton-Walsh , Holly Yan , Gul Tuysuz , Barbara Starr , and Jill Dougherty , along with Journalist Ammar Cheikhomar , contributed to this report .
155 Syrians are dead Tuesday , including 30 in a shelling at a school , the LCC says . Syrian forces are mixing chemical warfare agents , a U.S. official says . The Syrian Foreign Ministry denies plans to use such weapons .