British Foreign Secretary William Hague says evidence of a chemical attack by the Syrian regime may have already been destroyed.
“The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment,” he said, referring to reported continued attacks on the area east of Damascus where the chemical attack is believed to have taken place.
“Other evidence could have degraded over the last few days and other evidence could have been tampered with,” he added, during a press conference given shortly after Damascus gave its green light to a mission by UN inspectors.
The experts will on Monday start investigating the site of the alleged attack as a sceptical Washington said Syria’s acceptance had come too late.
Hague expressed concern that too much time had elapsed for the UN inspectors to gather enough concrete evidence.
“We have to be realistic now about what the UN team can achieve,” he said.
However, he repeated his belief that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces were responsible for the alleged attack, claiming “there is a lot of evidence already and it all points in one direction”.
“We are clear in the British government that it was the Assad regime that carried out this large scale chemical attack,” he added.
Britain is working with the international community to formulate a response, with Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama talking via telephone on Saturday.
“They are agreed there must be a serious response by the international community,” he explained.
“We cannot, in the 21st century, allow the idea that chemical weapons can be used with impunity, that people can be killed in this way and that there are no consequences for it.”
He would not outline possible responses “for obvious reasons”, but stressed it’s “very important to act in accordance with international law and … to have widespread international support”.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad’s rule flared in March 2011, the UN says.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia will use its presidency of the United Nations Security Council next month to make sure those responsible for a chemical attack in Syria are held accountable.
Rudd says Syria will be a top priority when Australia takes over the presidency of the security council in September.
“This will be a vital period ahead. We must act responsibly with the international community to make sure that those who are responsible for this mass atrocity are brought to justice,” he said.
“You cannot just wave these things through to the keeper.”
Rudd spoke to French President Francois Hollande about the situation on Sunday and plans to discuss it with other world leaders in coming days.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the government will be upfront with the public if the US requests help for any action against the Syrian regime. He said the US was unlikely to put any “boots on the ground”.
