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A UNITED NATIONS spokesperson has confirmed that snipers have shot at its chemical inspectors.
The gunmen have not been identified.
The attack has forced the experts to suspend their attempts to investigate claims that chemical weapons had been used in a suburb of the capital city of Damascus last week.
“The first vehicle of the chemical weapons investigation team was deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers,” said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.
“As the car was no longer serviceable, the team returned safely back to the government checkpoint.”
The vehicles were headed for Ghouta, east of Damascus. No injuries were reported and the team are due to return to the site once the car is replaced.
Nesirky “stressed again that all sides need to extend their cooperation so that the team can safely carry out their important work”.
Earlier today, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon had said that “every hour counts” to ensure a sufficient investigation into the alleged chemical attack. He told reporters in Seoul that the team could not afford any more delays.
Bashar Assad’s administration had been slow to give the necessary permissions to the UN to allow the inspectors into the area. Persistent shelling at the site also led to US complaints that the scene had been corrupted.
According to the Opposition in Syria, 1,300 people – including many children – were killed in the rebel-held towns east and south-east of Damascus.
Workers with Doctors Without Borders said 355 people had died of “neurotoxic” symptoms. The Assad regime has denied responsibility.
State television in Syria has accused rebels of firing the shots at the inspectors.
“Members of the United Nations team… came under fire from armed terrorist groups as they entered the Moadamiyet al-Sham area,” reported SANA.
Additional reporting by AFP
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And here was me cursing at the rain this morning before I left the house.
I dont know the facts but when says rugby world cup was forced to cancel several games you have to doubt everything else is valid. Can these news agencies not just report the facts. The story is already bad enough without adding to it. (3 games were cancelled)
@Doire: Not meaning to be pedantic. But does “several” not mean more than 2 but not many? Considering that the article is not specifically about the rugby world cup state of play, it’s not an unreasonable statement in an article about a typhoon.
@Paraic: a few i take to mean 3-6, several too mean 7+. My way of thinking is that its the biggest thing happening in the area the typhoon is hitting could we at not at least expect to get basic facts correct.
@Doire: Then your understanding of the word is factually incorrect.
It means “being more than two but fewer than many in number or kind”.
The article did get the basic facts correct.
Another one is at 35, more than “several” people have been killed which is far more important than a lack of understanding of a single word.
@Reuben Gray: and far more important than the cancellation of several games of rugby. Thinking of the Japanese people affected and wishing them a speedy recovery.
@Doire: Clearly your understanding of the English language is limited, as there are several grammatical errors in your comment.
have your say