{"id":2953,"date":"2013-08-31T09:10:25","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T09:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp3\/?p=2953"},"modified":"2013-08-31T09:10:25","modified_gmt":"2013-08-31T09:10:25","slug":"un-syria-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sunnionline.us\/english\/2013\/08\/31\/2953\/","title":{"rendered":"UN inspectors leave Syria as US weighs ‘limited act’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"UN inspectors investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria have left Damascus.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

They crossed into neighbouring Lebanon just hours after President Barack Obama said the US was considering a “limited narrow act” against Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Citing a US intelligence assessment, Secretary of State John Kerry accused Syria of using chemical weapons to kill 1,429 people, including 426 children.<\/span><\/p>\n

Syria said the US claim was “full of lies”, blaming rebels for the attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UN inspectors – investigating what happened in the Damascus suburbs on 21 August – left their hotel in the Syrian capital in a convoy of vehicles on Saturday morning and later arrived in Lebanon.<\/span><\/p>\n

During their visit, they carried out four days of inspections.<\/span><\/p>\n

It could be two weeks before their final report is ready, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has told diplomats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their departure from Syria removes both a practical and a political obstacle to the launch of American-led military action, the BBC’s Kevin Connolly in Beirut reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Any attack that might have placed them in danger was unthinkable and would have seemed premature before their work on the ground was complete, our correspondent adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Russia – a key ally of Syria – has warned that “any unilateral military action bypassing the UN Security Council” would be a “direct violation of international law”.<\/span><\/p>\n

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said his country will defend itself against any Western “aggression”. French President Francois Hollande has reaffirmed his support for the US stance.<\/span><\/p>\n

World’s ‘obligation’<\/span>
Speaking on Friday, President Obama said the alleged attack in Damascus’ suburbs on 21 August was “a challenge to the world” that threatened America’s “national security interests”.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The world has an obligation to make sure that we maintain the norm against the use of chemical weapons.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But the US leader stressed that Washington was “looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act”, and there would be “no boots on the ground” or “long-term campaign”.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Obama comments came shortly after Secretary of State John Kerry laid out a raft of what Washington said was a “high confidence” intelligence assessment about the attack.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main findings of the released unclassified summary state that:<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

* the attack killed 1,429 people, including 426 children<\/span>
* Syrian military chemical weapons personnel were operating in the area in the three days before the attack<\/span>
* Satellite evidence shows rockets launched from government-held areas 90 minutes before first report of chemical attack<\/span>
* 100 videos attributed to the attack show symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve agent<\/span>
* Communications were intercepted involving a senior Damascus official who “confirmed chemical weapons were used” and was concerned about UN inspectors obtaining evidence<\/span><\/p>\n

The US said its assessment was backed by accounts from medical personnel, witnesses, journalists, videos and thousands of social media reports.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Kerry said the US already had the facts, and nothing that the UN inspectors found could tell the world anything new.<\/span><\/p>\n

He also described Mr Assad as “a thug and a murderer”.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, Syria’s state-run news agency Sana said Mr Kerry was using “material based on old stories which were published by terrorists over a week ago”.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Strong message’<\/span><\/strong>
The UN Security Council is unlikely to approve any military intervention because of opposition from Russia – one of the five permanent members.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moscow, along with China, has vetoed two previous draft resolutions on Syria.<\/span><\/p>\n

The US was also dealt a blow on Thursday when the UK parliament rejected a motion supporting the principle of military intervention.<\/span><\/p>\n

The vote rules the UK out of any potential military alliance.<\/span><\/p>\n

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Mr Obama spoke over the telephone on Friday, agreeing to continue to co-operate on international issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The president told Mr Cameron he “fully respected” the approach taken by the UK government.<\/span><\/p>\n

US officials said they would continue to push for a coalition, and France said it was ready to take action in Syria alongside the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr Obama and French President Francois Hollande discussed the issue in a telephone conversation on Friday, Paris said.<\/span><\/p>\n

It said that both leaders wanted to send Damascus a “strong message” to condemn the alleged use of chemical weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Neither France nor the US needs parliamentary approval for military action.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another US ally, Turkey, called for action similar to the Nato bombing raids in the former Yugoslavia in 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nato carried out 70 days of air strikes to protect civilians from attack in Kosovo, despite not having a UN resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that any military intervention should be aimed at toppling Mr Assad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarin stockpile<\/span><\/strong>
The use of chemical weapons is banned under several treaties, and considered illegal under customary international humanitarian law.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Syrian army is known to have stockpiles of chemical agents including sarin gas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier accounts of the attack in Damascus quoted officials from medical charity Medicins Sans Frontieres as saying 355 people had been killed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UN inspectors have collected various samples that will now be examined in laboratories across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

The UN team is not mandated to apportion blame for the attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have died since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011, and the conflict has produced at least 1.7 million refugees.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Source: BBC News<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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