U.S presses Syria to take in chemical weapen examiners

The White House said on Monday that President Bashar al-Assad should allow UN inspectors into Syria to begin an investigation into whether chemical weapons had been used, DPA reported.

Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that verification of whether such weapons had been used would be "certainly easier if you were to have a team on the ground, allowed entry by the Assad regime."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also said the team should be allowed to begin its work.

The Syrian government last month asked the UN to launch an investigation after it accused the rebels of using chemical weapons during fighting with government forces near the northern city of Aleppo.

It has refused entry to the team because it also wants to inspect government facilities.

Syrian rebels and the opposition have accused the government of using chemical weapons.

President Barack Obama has said the use of such weapons would be a game changer in Syria's civil war, but the United States must have confirmed evidence that an attack took place before it carries out threatened consequences.

Carney said the evidence must be "corroborated" and "airtight."

Ban said the planned probe is at a "crucial moment" because the team has been gathering information, including from the United States. He described that information as "serious."

"The team has been gathering and analysing information and visiting capitals to get relevant information," Ban said. The small advance team is waiting in Cyprus.

The United States and Britain said last week they had growing evidence chemical weapons were used in various areas across the war-torn country.

US officials have identified the substance as sarin - a highly toxic nerve agent that can cause quick paralysis or death.

Syria dismissed the claim as "false and fabricated."

In Damascus, Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi survived a bomb attack near his convoy in the upscale neighbourhood of Mezzeh.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast killed one of al-Halqi's bodyguards and five civilians.

Al-Halqi appeared on television, which said the footage was filmed after the attack, looking pale and shaken while speaking.

The bomb was planted under a car in Mezzeh, a highly secured area in western Damascus and home to several senior military and political figures.

Broadcast footage showed dozens of cars and at least two public buses damaged. A body wrapped in a blanket was shown being carried to an ambulance.

Al-Halqi was appointed as premier in August 2012 after his predecessor Riad Hijab defected to the opposition and left to Jordan.

On July 18, key members of al-Assad's inner circle were killed and wounded in a bombing at the national security headquarters in Damascus.

Among the dead were defence minister Daoud Rajha and his influential deputy Assef Shawkat - al-Assad's brother-in-law.

In December, a car bomb blew off near the Interior Ministry, killing several people and wounding dozens, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar, who was transferred to Beirut for treatment.

The two-year old conflict in Syria has left more than 70,000 people dead, according to UN estimates.

Meanwhile, an Interfax news agency report said two missiles were fired at a Russian passenger plane carrying holidaymakers as it flew over Syria on Monday.

The plane with some 200 passengers on board managed to avoid two surface-to-air missiles, which subsequently exploded close to it, Interfax said, citing an unnamed source.

Nobody was hurt, the report said. The liner belonging to an unnamed Russian airline was flying tourists from Egypt back to Russia.


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