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Inspectors enter Syrian town that was scene of alleged chemical attack

The incident prompted airstrikes in retaliation from the US, UK and France.

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People stand in front of damaged buildings, in the town of Douma (Hassan Ammar/AP)

International inspectors have entered the Syrian town where an alleged chemical attack was carried out earlier this month, following delays by Syrian and Russian authorities.

The fact-finding mission from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is investigating reports that government forces launched an April 7 chemical attack in the final stages of their campaign to retake the town from rebels.

The alleged gas attack, which Syrian activists say killed more than 40 people, prompted punitive US, British and French airstrikes.

Syria and its ally Russia deny any chemical attack took place, and Russian officials have accused Britain of staging a “fake” chemical attack.

Rubble fills a street in Douma (Hassan Ammar/AP)
Rubble fills a street in Douma (Hassan Ammar/AP)

Journalists were allowed access to the suspected attack sites on Monday, but the OPCW said Syrian and Russian authorities blocked the inspectors.

The Associated Press spoke to survivors and witnesses who described being hit by gas.

Several said a strange smell started spreading and people screamed: “It’s chlorine! It’s chlorine!”

The US and France say they have evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces used poison gas in the attack, but they have not provided any evidence, even after Saturday’s punitive missile strikes.

Douma was the last rebel-held town near Damascus, and the target of a government offensive in February and March that killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.

Hours after the alleged chemical attack, the rebel faction that controlled the town, the Army Of Islam, relented and was evacuated along with thousands of residents.

The site visit came hours after reports of more international air strikes on Syrian military installations.

The Syrian military later said a false alarm set off air defence systems early Tuesday, retracting earlier reports of a pre-dawn “outside aggression” on its airfields in the central Homs region and a suburb of Damascus.

The Pentagon denied any American military activity in the area.

Ministry of Defence handout photo of a RAF Tornado coming into land after striking Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack (Cpl L Matthews/PA)
Ministry of Defence handout photo of a RAF Tornado coming into land after striking Syria in response to the alleged chemical attack (Cpl L Matthews/PA)

Explosions were heard in the areas of the two bases, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict through a network of sources inside the country.

But it said no missiles landed inside the bases.

Earlier this month, four Iranian military personnel were killed in an airstrike on Syria’s T4 air base, also in Homs.

Syria and its main allies Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that attack. Israel did not confirm or deny the allegations.

The lack of access to Douma has left unanswered questions about the attack earlier this month.

OPCW director-general Ahmet Uzumcu said Syrian and Russian officials cited “pending security issues” in keeping its inspectors from reaching Douma.

“The team has not yet deployed to Douma,” Mr Uzumcu told an executive council meeting of the OPCW in The Hague on Monday.

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