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UN to inspect Syria gas attack site

BEIRUT — Syria yesterday said it would allow the United Nations to visit the site of an alleged chemical attack after warning the United States against any military action in its civil war , saying it would “create a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East”.

Pigeons lie on the ground after dying from what activists say is the use of chemical weapons by forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in the Damascus suburbs of Arbeen August 24, 2013. Photo: Reuters

Pigeons lie on the ground after dying from what activists say is the use of chemical weapons by forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad in the Damascus suburbs of Arbeen August 24, 2013. Photo: Reuters

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BEIRUT — Syria yesterday said it would allow the United Nations to visit the site of an alleged chemical attack after warning the United States against any military action in its civil war , saying it would “create a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East”.

President Bashar Al Assad’s closest ally Iran also said Washington should not cross the “red line” on Syria, where doctors said hundreds were killed in a poison gas attack.

Earlier yesterday, Syria promised to let United Nations (UN) chemical weapons experts visit the site of last week’s alleged attack to conduct investigations. A statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s office said Syria had promised to observe a ceasefire at the site in the suburbs of Damascus today while a UN team begins its “on-site fact-finding activities”.

A senior official in the US administration yesterday said the country now has little doubt the Syrian government used chemical weapons against civilians last week, and US President Barack Obama is studying how to respond.

“We are continuing to assess the facts so the President can make an informed decision about how to respond to this indiscriminate use of chemical weapons,” the official added.

The official made clear the Syrian government’s agreement to let the inspectors visit the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack was inadequate.

“At this juncture, any belated decision by the regime to grant access to the UN team would be considered too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime’s persistent shelling and other intentional actions over the last five days,” the official said.

On Saturday, Mr Obama met his top military and national security advisers to debate its options. US naval forces have been repositioned in the Mediterranean to give the President the option of an armed strike.

Syria said any military action would be “no picnic”.

“US military intervention will create a very serious fallout and a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East,” Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi was quoted by state news agency SANA as saying to Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV.

Mr Obama authorised sending US weapons to Syrian rebels in June but shipments were delayed due to fears that radical Islamist groups in the opposition could gain further ground in Syria and become a threat to the West.

The head of the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front has pledged to target communities from Syria’s Alawite faith, followed by Mr Assad, with rockets in revenge for Wednesday’s incident, according to an audio recording published on YouTube.

Mr Obama has been reluctant to intervene in Syria’s civil war, but reports of the killings near Damascus have put pressure on the White House to make good on the President’s comment a year ago that chemical weapons would be a “red line” for the US. AGENCIES

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