BEIRUT/SEOUL, Aug 23: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today renewed his push for Syria to allow UN inspectors immediate access to investigate allegations that the government carried out a deadly chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus.
“I can think of no good reason why any party, either government or opposition forces – would decline this opportunity to get to the truth of the matter,” the UN chief told a diplomatic forum in Seoul.
Syria’s government has offered no public response to U.N. calls for its team to inspect the site of the attack, which opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said killed from 500 to well over 1,000 people.
They said more bodies were being found in the wake of Wednesday’s mysterious pre-dawn killer fumes, which the Syrian government insists were not its doing.
The administration of US President Barack Obama said it was “appalled” by the death reports.
A US official familiar with initial intelligence assessments said the attack appeared to be the work of the Assad government. It was “the regime acting as a regime”, the official said. But the Obama administration made clear that any response would await confirmation of a chemical attack and its origin. MORE (AGENCIES)
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