Watch: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird addresses Syrian crisis
VANCOUVER – Canada’s foreign minister has joined the chorus of those condemning an attack on UN inspectors in Syria on Monday.
“Syria must allow the United Nations team unfettered access with full protection,” he said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared Monday that there was “undeniable” evidence of a large-scale chemical weapons attack in Syria.
“The indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity,” Kerry said.
Read more: Kerry says chemical weapons were used in Syria; US considers military options
En route to Damascus suburb Moadamiyeh on Monday, one of the vehicles in the UN convoy was shot at by snipers, damaging it beyond use.
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The Syrian government accused rebel forces of firing at the UN team, while the opposition said a pro-government militia was responsible.
Baird expressed concern the al-Assad government had jeopardized the UN investigation by not allowing inspectors into the area sooner.
“The delay tactics used by the Assad regime in allowing UN inspectors into affected areas coupled with the continued bombardment of the area where chemical weapons were used has likely, unfortunately, impaired the UN’s ability to firmly assign responsibility.”
“Canada is incredibly outraged by the use of chemical weapons in Syria,” Baird said. “Such an attack demands a firm response from the international community.”
Read more: 1 million children have fled Syria as refugees: UNICEF
British Foreign Secretary William Hague also said the U.K. government was clear “that it was the Assad regime that carried out this chemical attack,” saying in a statement “All of the evidence points in that direction, in that one direction.”
“If the regime believed somebody else had carried out this attack then they would have given access to the UN inspectors several days ago,” Hague said.
Despite being shot at after leaving their hotel on Monday, UN inspectors arrived at Moadamiyeh, where chemical weapons were allegedly used last week.
Unverified video emerged showing UN vans travelling into the inspection area, while another video depicts what appears to be the inspectors meeting with survivors of the alleged attack and doctors while the patients are being treated.
In one of the videos posted to YouTube on Monday, a man can be seen convulsing in a similar way to people seen in footage last week.
Two other videos show inspectors with video cameras on their helmets discussing “a strong smell” and measuring a metal tube lying on the ground.
The videos were posted by a regular uploader, who has been posting videos since Sept. 2012.
Global News has not independently verified these videos, but the amateur footage has also been distributed by The Associated Press.
Explainer: Verifying videos of the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria
It’s unclear whether the UN inspectors are in Eastern Ghouta, where hundreds of people are believed to have died as a result of the alleged attack, or another area where victims were taken in the wake of the apparent gas strike.
Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said he was not aware of any independent reporters travelling with the inspection team, but he confirmed the team visited two hospitals.
He told reporters Monday the UN continues to “seek a diplomatic solution” to the conflict.
WATCH: UN spokesman addresses the sniper attack on one of its vehicles in Syria during its visit to a site of an alleged chemical weapon attack
American officials said President Barack Obama has not decided how to respond to the use of deadly gases, a move the White House said last year would cross a “red line.”
France, Britain, Israel and some U.S. congressmen have said a military response against the Syrian regime should be an option. Russia, however, has said that Western nations calling for military action have no proof the Syrian government was behind any chemical attacks.
Read more: U.S. can’t cross back over the Syria-chemical weapons ‘red line,’ says expert
NDP Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair said: “To see a government in the 21st century gassing its own citizens is an abomination, the world should move against that, world institutions should move against that.”
Read more: Where’s the public outcry over Syrian humanitarian crisis, experts ask
Meanwhile, at least two of the war-torn country’s neighbours are preparing for the worst.
The Jerusalem Post reported the demand for gas masks has gone up in recent days.
Germany’s Der Spiegel reported Monday Turkey’s Defence Ministry has “strengthened precautions against a nerve gas attack” along its southern border with Syria.
*With files from The Associated Press
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