UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leaving Syria

UN weapons inspectors have left their hotel in the Syrian capital Damascus and are heading to Lebanon, according to reports.

The 20-strong team were seen leaving in vehicles for the border after investigating an alleged gas attack that the US claims killed more than 1,400 people.

Yesterday, they finished collecting samples from the site of the atrocity, which they will now take to The Hague to be analysed.

A UN spokesman stressed that all available information, including lab analysis of the samples, had to be evaluated "before the mission can draw any conclusions about the incident".

The UN mandate is to determine if a chemical weapons attack took place.

They left hours after the US outlined the evidence it believes proves the Syrian regime was behind the attack.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said President Bashar al Assad's personnel were on the ground making preparations for a chemical assault for three days before the nerve gas atrocity in Damascus.

A US intelligence report blamed Syria's government for the attack with "high confidence" and said it was "highly unlikely" the atrocity was plotted by rebels.

The report said 1,429 people were killed, including 426 children, and the assessment was based on "multiple" streams of intelligence.

The Assad government has denied using chemical weapons, saying the assault was carried out by rebels, and dismissed the US report as "entirely fabricated".

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama is preparing for a possible military strike in response to the atrocity.

He said he has not made a final decision on attacking Syria but was mulling a "narrow and limited" strike - which reports say would probably be carried out using Tomahawk cruise missiles.

The American leader said of the suspected gas assault: "This kind of attack is a challenge to the world", adding it threatens US allies like Israel, Turkey and Jordan.

"We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale," he told reporters at the White House.

Any attack, most likely with cruise missiles from five US Navy destroyers already stationed in the eastern Mediterranean, had been considered unlikely before UN experts left the country.

Late last night, America revealed that a sixth US warship -  the USS San Antonio - is now operating in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mr Kerry said any action would be a "tailored response" to punish Mr Assad for the "brutal and fragrant" attack.

Veto-holding members of the United Nations are at odds over a draft Security Council resolution that would authorise "all necessary force" in response to the alleged gas attack.

Mr Kerry insisted the US was not alone in its quest to punish the Syrian regime, citing the support of France, America's "oldest ally".

Key US ally Britain dropped out of the coalition planning military strikes following a parliamentary vote.

The UK's traditional role as America's most reliable military ally was called into question when David Cameron became the first British prime minister in history to be blocked by MPs over the prospect of military action.

America is mulling whether to strike Syria without UN backing despite some of the more hawkish figures in the US cautioning against military action.

Former president, George W Bush, told Fox News Mr Obama had a "tough choice to make" but would not be drawn on what he should do.

He added: "I was not a fan of Mr Assad. He's an ally of Iran and has made mischief."

Former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who helped spearhead US invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, said: "There really hasn't been any indication from the administration as to what our national interest is with respect to this particular situation."

He said, if anything, the US should be more concerned with Iran.

More than 100,000 people have died since the conflict erupted in March 2011 and two million have become refugees, half of them children, according to the UN.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leaving Syria

Dengan url

http://tampolantelak.blogspot.com/2013/08/un-chemical-weapons-inspectors-leaving.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leaving Syria

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

UN Chemical Weapons Inspectors Leaving Syria

sebagai sumbernya