Russia blocks investigation of Syria chemical attack site

SYRIAN state-run television says Syria’s air defences have confronted a new “aggression,” shooting down missiles over the area of Homs in the country’s centre.

It did not elaborate or say who carried out the air strikes early this morning.

The Syrian Central Media run by the government said the missiles targeted Dumayr and Shayrat air bases. It says all attacking missiles were shot down by a Russian-built S-200 defence system.

The report comes a few days after the US, Britain and France conducted air strikes targeting alleged chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Those attacks were in retaliation for a suspected chemical weapons attack that they blamed on the Syrian government.

Washington has denied any involvement in the fresh attack. Israel has issued a statement saying it will neither confirm nor deny if its forces were involved.

Earlier this month, four Iranian military personnel were killed in an air strike on the Syrian T4 air base in Homs. Syria and its main allies Iran and Russia blamed Israel for that attack. Israel did not confirmed or deny mounting the raid.

CHEMICAL SITE INVESTIGATION BLOCKED
Earlier, Russia and Syria were accused of blocking chemical inspectors from investigating the site of the brutal chemical attack in Douma.

Russia may even have compromised the site of the gas attack, according to Ahmet Uzumcu, Director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

“It’s our concern they may have tampered with it to thwart the fact-finding investigation,” Mr Uzumcu is quoted as saying by NBC’s Bill Neely.

The inspectors arrived in Syria on Saturday to examine whether chemical weapons were used in Douma on April 7, killing at least 70 civilians — and what kind.

Meanwhile the UK’s envoy to the OPCW, Peter Wilson, reportedly said there is “reliable intelligence” to support claims that Syria was behind the attack.

“No other group could have carried out this attack,” he told Neely after the OPCW held a special session to discuss the attack.

Western nations have criticised Russia for defending President Bashar Assad and denying a chemical attack by his forces took place.

But a Syrian government official said it is “fully ready” to co-operate with the OCPW that’s in Syria to investigate the alleged chemical attack that triggered US-led air strikes.

Faisal Mekdad, Syria’s deputy foreign minister, said government officials have met with the delegation, which has been in Damascus for three days, a number of times to discuss co-operation.

Russia also insists it is committed to let the UN-backed watchdog do its work in Syria, promising “not to interfere”.

The Kremlin dismissed the claims.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the claims, telling the BBC “I can guarantee that Russia has not tampered with the site.”

Meanwhile a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the allegations were “groundless”, adding Moscow favoured “an impartial investigation”.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov went as far as to say the inspectors were delayed because of the Western air strikes on Syria in retaliation to the chemical attack.

Moscow condemned the Western states for refusing to wait for the findings of the OCPW before launching the strikes.

The OPCW arrived in Syria a day before the US, Britain and France battered three Syrian locations with missiles in retaliation to the Douma siege.

Inspectors have yet to visit Douma, where regimen troops and Russian police were deployed soon after the chemical attack which forced rebels there to surrender.

It raised concerns from Syrian opposition groups and forces that evidence of chemical weapons use might no longer be found.

The strikes have ratcheted up international tension, as the U.S. and Russia exchanged threats of retaliation.

US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said America is looking to introduce new economic sanctions against Russia for enabling Assad’s government to continue using chemical weapons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the military strikes violated the UN Charter and that if they continue, “it will inevitably entail chaos in international relations”.

The Syrian government regained full control of Douma on Saturday following a surrender deal with the rebels who had controlled the town just east of Damascus.

Douma was the last rebel holdout in the eastern Ghouta enclave, the target of a government offensive in February and March that left hundreds dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Syrian media, as well as Russian and Syrian officials, have sought to downplay the impact of the joint air strikes.

They said Syrian air defences intercepted most of the missiles but the Pentagon claims no missiles were engaged.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faced criticism for authorising the strikes without a vote in Parliament.

Her office said she planned to tell them the strikes were “in Britain’s national interest” and were carried out to stop further suffering from chemical weapons attacks.