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An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube by a Syrian activist on Wednesday, allegedly shows a United Nations (UN) arms expert (right) taking with a Syrian woman as they investigate a suspected chemical weapons attack in Damascus' eastern Ghouta suburb. (AFP)
United Nations inspectors, in Syria to determine whether forces have used chemical weapons in the civil war, need four days to conclude their investigation and time to analyse the findings, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.
"They are working very hard, under very, very dangerous circumstances," Ban told a news conference in The Hague where he was attending centenary celebrations for the Peace Palace.
"Let them conclude their work for four days, and then we will have to analyse scientifically with experts and then I think we will have to report to the Security Council for any actions."
Evidence points to use of chemical weapons by Assad forces: Nato
Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday information from a variety of sources pointed to President Bashar Al Assad's forces being responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Speaking after a meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels, Rasmussen said any use of such weapons was "unacceptable and cannot go unanswered", although he did not suggest any response.
"This is a clear breach of long-standing international norms and practice... Those responsible must be held accountable," he said in a statement.
Rasmussen said the military alliance would keep the situation in Syria under "close review".
"Terrorists" will strike Europe with chemical weapons: Syria
Syria's deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday that the United States, Britain and France helped "terrorists" use chemical weapons in Syria, and that the same groups would soon use them against Europe.
Speaking to reporters outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, Faisal Maqdad said he had presented U.N. chemical weapons inspectors with evidence that "armed terrorist groups" had used sarin gas in all the sites of alleged attacks.
"We repeat that the terrorist groups are the ones that used (chemical weapons) with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and this has to stop," he said. "This means these chemical weapons will soon be used by the same groups against the people of Europe," he added.
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