UN inspectors due to visit chemical attack site in Syria

PanARMENIAN.Net - A team of UN inspectors is due to visit the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack carried out on Wednesday, August 21 near the Syrian capital Damascus, BBC News reported.

The visit is going ahead after Syria's government agreed to a ceasefire. However its decision to allow monitors to access the site has been met with scepticism by Western governments.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said any military intervention by the U.S. would end in "failure". He told the Russian newspaper Izvestia that Western leaders would not succeed in turning Syria into a puppet of the West.

The U.S. says there is little doubt Syrian forces used chemical weapons in the attack, which reportedly killed 300 people. The government blames rebels. A year ago, U.S. President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would be "a red line" that could trigger U.S. military action. Washington has bolstered its naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean as it considers its options.