West prepares for strike as UN in 2nd Syria probe
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UN chemical weapons experts headed to a Damascus suburb yesterday for a new tour of areas struck by a purported poison gas attack, as Western powers laid the groundwork for a possible punitive strike and the UN chief pleaded for more time for diplomacy.
US leaders, including Vice President Joe Biden, have charged that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government fired deadly chemical weapons near Damascus last week.
The US has not presented concrete proof and UN inspectors have not endorsed the allegations.
The UN’s envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said evidence suggests some kind of “substance” was used in the August 21 attacks said to have killed 355 people. Syria, which has one of the world’s largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, denies the charges.
Still, the US and its allies appear to be moving toward a strike against the Assad government.
Britain said it was to put forward a resolution to the UN Security Council to condemn the Syrian government for the alleged attack. Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said Britain would seek backing for “necessary measures to protect civilians” in Syria under Chapter 7 of the UN charter. Military force is one of the options under Chapter 7.
Brahimi said any military strike must have Security Council approval.
The UN experts conducted their first field testing in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh on Monday. They collected samples and testimony after a treacherous journey through government and rebel-held territory.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon said yesterday the team had already “gathered valuable samples and interviewed victims and witnesses.”
Brahimi said “it does seem like some kind of substance was used” in last week’s strikes.
“This was of course unacceptable,” he said. “This is outrageous. This confirms how dangerous the situation in Syria is and how important for the Syrians and the international community to really develop the political will to address this issue seriously, and look for a solution for it.”
The US, Britain and France haven’t shared with the UN any evidence they are collecting about the incident, he said.
Ban pleaded for more time to allow the UN team in Syria to establish the facts and to give diplomacy another chance to end the conflict, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives in two and a half years.
He said the Security Council, whose permanent members are bitterly divided over Syria, must not go “missing in action.”
Marking the centenary of a venue for peaceful conflict resolution at The Hague, Ban said: “Here in the Peace Palace, let us say: Give peace a chance. Give diplomacy a chance. Stop fighting and start talking.”
Iran and Russia have warned of dire consequences if the US and its allies attack in Syria.
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