08/26/2013 11:53kruijs

Weapons inspectors investigating an alleged chemical attack in Damascus have been shot at by snipers, a UN spokesman has said.

The team's lead vehicle was "deliberately shot at multiple times" as they visited a suburb of the city where hundreds of people were allegedly killed.

None of the inspectors, who were dressed in body armour, are believed to have been injured in the shooting, which came after two mortar bombs landed close to their hotel.

http://news.sky.com/story/1133285/syria-un-inspectors-shot-at-by-snipers

   08/24/2013 20:20kruijs

Syrian state media accused rebels of using chemical arms against government troops in clashes Saturday near Damascus, while an international aid group said it has tallied 355 deaths from a purported chemical weapons attack earlier this week.

Doctors Without Borders said three hospitals it supports in the eastern Damascus region reported receiving roughly 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms" over less than three hours on Wednesday morning, when the attack in the eastern Ghouta area took place.

Of those, 355 died, said the Paris-based group.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that its estimated death toll from the alleged chemical attack reached 322, including 54 children, 82 women and dozens of fighters. It said the dead included 16 who have not been identified.

The Observatory's earlier death toll was 136, saying it was raised after its activists in the stricken areas met doctors, residents and saw medical reports. It said the dead "fell in the massacre committed by the Syrian regime."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/24/syria-rebels-chemical-weapons/2695243/

   08/23/2013 06:29kruijs

The United States said on Thursday it was unable to conclusively say that chemical weapons were used in an alleged deadly gas attack near Damascus, and U.S. President Barack Obama has directed U.S. intelligence agencies to urgently help verify allegations.

"At this time, right now, we are unable to conclusively determine CW (chemical weapons) use," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. "We are doing everything possible in our power to nail down the facts," she added.

She said Obama had instructed the U.S. intelligence community to look into what happened.

   08/22/2013 19:37kruijs

The United Nations and the United States are calling for an immediate investigation of Syrian activists' claims that the Bashar al-Assad government used chemical weapons in an attack on civilians.

Anti-regime activist groups in Syria say more than 1,300 people were killed in the attack outside Damascus, many of them women and children. Video footage and witness reports appeared to bolster claims that chemical weapons were used.

President Obama has directed the U.S. intelligence community to urgently gather additional information to try to assess whether chemical weapons were used Wednesday in Syria, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Thursday.

Ban Ki-moon said the alleged incidents Wednesday need to be probed "without delay."

Ban urged a Damascus-based team "to be granted permission and access to swiftly investigate the incident" and the United Nations is sending a formal request to Syria.

"He expects to receive a positive response without delay," his spokesperson said in a statement.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the matter is "of utmost urgency" and the "allegations are exceptionally grave."

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/22/world/meast/syria-civil-war