Syria gas 'kills hundreds,' Security Council meets
Wed, Aug 21 2013
By Dominic Evans and Khaled Yacoub Oweis
BEIRUT/AMMAN |
Thu Aug 22, 2013 12:53am BST
(Reuters) -
Syria's
opposition accused government forces of gassing hundreds of people on
Wednesday by firing rockets that released deadly fumes over rebel-held
Damascus suburbs, killing men, women and children as they slept.
With
the death toll estimated between 500 and 1,300, what would be the
world's most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s prompted an
emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York.
The
council did not explicitly demand a U.N. investigation of the incident,
although it said "clarity" was needed and welcomed U.N. chief Ban
Ki-moon's calls for a prompt investigation by the U.N. inspection team
in
Syria, led by Ake Sellstrom.
An
earlier Western-drafted statement submitted to the council, seen by
Reuters, was not approved. The final version of the statement was
watered down to accommodate objections from Russia and
China, diplomats said. Moscow and Beijing have vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Assad.
Syrian
Information Minister Omran Zoabi said the allegations were "illogical
and fabricated". President Bashar al-Assad's officials have said they
would never use poison gas against Syrians. The United States and
European allies believe Assad's forces have used small amounts of sarin
before, hence the current U.N. visit.
Immediate international
action is likely to be limited, with the divisions among major powers
that have crippled efforts to quell 2 1/2 years of civil war still much
in evidence.
Russia backed up Syrian government denials by saying it looked like a rebel "provocation" to discredit Assad.
Britain
voiced the opposite view: "I hope this will wake up some who have
supported the Assad regime to realise its murderous and barbaric
nature," Foreign Secretary William Hague said on a visit to Paris.
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Syria: UN Security Council wants 'clarity' over alleged chemical attack
The
UN Security Council has said it was necessary to clarify an alleged
chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday but
stopped short of explicitly demanding a UN investigation after
opposition from Russia and China.
"There
is a strong concern among council members about the allegations and a
general sense that there must be clarity on what happened and the
situation must be followed closely," Argentina's UN ambassador, Maria
Cristina Perceval, told reporters after a closed-door emergency meeting
of the council.
While the council did not explicitly call for a UN investigation, it welcomed UN chief Ban Ki-moon's calls for one.
"The
members of the Security Council also welcomed the determination of the
Secretary-General to ensure a thorough, impartial and prompt
investigation," said Perceval, who is president of the council this
month.
Syria's opposition
accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of gassing many
hundreds of people - by one report as many as 1,300 - in a pre-dawn
attack on Wednesday. Mr Assad's government denied using chemical
weapons.
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Russia, China torpedo strong UN statement on Syria
Draft proposed by US, UK and France called on Syria to allow inspectors access to alleged attack in Damascus suburbs
By AP and Times of Israel staff August 22, 2013, 2:26 am Updated: August 22, 2013, 4:13 am
UNITED
NATIONS — The UN Security Council called Wednesday for “a thorough,
impartial and prompt investigation” of the latest allegation of chemical
weapons use in Syria.
The council backed Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon’s determination to ensure a “thorough investigation” of the
alleged attack on the eastern suburbs of Damascus that killed at least
100 people.
UN
deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said earlier that the
secretary-general was “shocked” at Wednesday’s alleged use of chemical
weapons and wants all reported incidents investigated.
During a
two-hour closed-door meeting, diplomats said Russia and China, which
support the Syrian government, blocked a stronger press statement
supported by Britain, France, the United States and others.
But
Russia and China agreed that the council president could sum up the
session with “press elements” — close to the weakest response from the
UN’s most powerful body, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of
anonymity because the discussions were private.
The proposed
stronger statement, according to reports, would have called on Syria to
allow UN inspectors to look into Wednesday’s alleged attack.
A Russian official called the alleged attack a “planned provocation on the part of the Syrian opposition.”
Argentina’s
UN Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval, the current council president,
told reporters that there was “strong concern” about the latest
allegations of alleged chemical weapons use “and a general sense that
there must be clarity on what happened.”
Syrian anti-government
activists accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of carrying out a
toxic gas attack that killed at least 100 people, including many
children as they slept. The government denied using chemical weapons.
Perceval
said council members “welcomed the determination of the
secretary-general to ensure a thorough, impartial and prompt
investigation.”
“All council members agreed that any use of
chemical weapons by any side under any circumstances is a violation of
international law,” she said. “There was also an agreement for a strong
call for a cessation of hostilities and a cease-fire … (and) the need
for immediate humanitarian assistance to the victims.”
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that if reports of the chemical
attack are true, it is a “horrific crime.” She rejected, however, the
idea that the EU should speed up military aid to the Syrian rebels.
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