Chemical weapons experts blocked from Syrian attack site, UK says

They’ve waited two days to enter the site of the latest suspected chemical attack, where dozens of Syrian civilians were killed.

But despite having UN clearance, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons still can’t enter the city of Douma, UK officials said.

The United Kingdom said Syria and Russia have blocked OPCW investigators from entering Douma, and the United States said Russia may have tampered with evidence at the site.

A representative of Russia’s military said late Monday that OPCW inspectors would be permitted to travel to Douma on Wednesday.

“Wednesday is when we expect the arrival of the OPCW experts and Russia is not preventing this in any way,” Igor Kirillov told journalists at The Hague.

Russia said its security forces would assist the OPCW inspectors.

Also Monday, Russia’s envoy to the OPCW, Alexander Shulgin, released a statement accusing the the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets of using US funds to fake the suspected chemical attack.

Related article A year after the US first attacked Syria, what's changed?

The OPCW team is tasked with determining whether banned substances were used in the attack, a claim that both Syria and its most powerful ally, Russia, have vehemently denied.

The team has been in Syria since Saturday, the same day the United States, United Kingdom and France carried out airstrikes against Syrian government targets in response to the April 7 attack in Douma.

Ten-year-old girl Amira doesn't remember a time when her native neighborhood of Eastern Ghouta wasn't embroiled in war. Pictured at the al-Bol refugee camp in northern Syria with another evacuee, she says she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Related article Survivors of Syria chemical attack tell their stories for the first time

Western leaders have blamed the Syrian government for the Douma attack, which killed about 75 people, including children, UK officials said.

Another 500 people were treated for symptoms consistent with chemical weapons exposure, the World Health Organization reported, citing its partners on the ground.

Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad said Monday his country was ready to facilitate the OPCW team in any way to carry out its mission, the state-run SANA news agency reported.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond directly to CNN’s question on whether Russia had blocked the experts. Peskov said only that Russia was against “groundless” accusations about who was responsible for the attack.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the OPCW team’s arrival was hampered by the weekend airstrikes, state media RIA Novosti reported.

Displaced Syrian residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the UN Relief and Works Agency at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, Syria, on January 31, 2014. According to the UN Envoy for Syria, an estimated 400,000 Syrians have been killed since an uprising in March 2011 spiraled into civil war. See how the conflict has unfolded.

An injured man lying in the back of a vehicle is rushed to a hospital in Daraa, Syria, on March 23, 2011. Violence flared in Daraa after a group of teens and children were arrested for writing political graffiti. Dozens of people were killed when security forces cracked down on demonstrations.

Anti-government protesters demonstrate in Daraa on March 23, 2011. In response to continuing protests, the Syrian government announced several plans to appease citizens.

Syrian children walk over bricks stored for road repairs during a spontaneous protest June 15, 2011, at a refugee camp near the Syrian border in Yayladagi, Turkey.

Jamal al-Wadi speaks in Istanbul on September 15, 2011, after an alignment of Syrian opposition leaders announced the creation of a Syrian National Council -- their bid to present a united front against Bashar al-Assad's regime and establish a democratic system.

Delegates from Arab League member states and Turkey discuss a response to the government's crackdown in Syria on November 16, 2011.

Supporters of al-Assad celebrate during a referendum vote in Damascus on February 26, 2012. Opposition activists reported at least 55 deaths across the country as Syrians headed to the polls. Analysts and protesters widely described the constitutional referendum as a farce. "Essentially, what (al-Assad's) done here is put a piece of paper that he controls to a vote that he controls so that he can try and maintain control," a US State Department spokeswoman said.

Syrian refugees walk across a field in Syria before crossing into Turkey on March 14, 2012.

Rebel fighters with the Free Syrian Army capture a police officer in Aleppo, Syria, who they believed to be pro-regime militiaman on July 31, 2012. Dozens of officers were reportedly killed as rebels seized police stations in the city.

A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover as a Syrian Army tank shell hits a building across the street during clashes in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo on August 17, 2012.

Family members mourn the deaths of their relatives in front of a field hospital in Aleppo on August 21, 2012.

A Syrian man carrying grocery bags dodges sniper fire in Aleppo as he runs through an alley near a checkpoint manned by the Free Syrian Army on September 14, 2012.

Free Syrian Army fighters are reflected in a mirror they use to see a Syrian Army post only 50 meters away in Aleppo on September 16, 2012.

Smoke rises over the streets after a mortar bomb from Syria landed in the Turkish border village of Akcakale on October 3, 2012. Five people were killed. In response, Turkey fired on Syrian targets and its parliament authorized a resolution giving the government permission to deploy soldiers to foreign countries.

A Syrian rebel walks inside a burnt section of the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo hours before the Syrian army retook control of the complex on October 14, 2012.

An Israeli tank crew sits on the Golan Heights overlooking the Syrian village of Breqa on November 6, 2012. Israel fired warning shots toward Syria after a mortar shell hit an Israeli military post. It was the first time Israel fired on Syria across the Golan Heights since the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo as fighting continues through the night on December 1, 2012.

The bodies of three children are laid out for identification by family members at a makeshift hospital in Aleppo on December 2, 2012. The children were allegedly killed in a mortar shell attack that landed close to a bakery in the city.

A father reacts after the deaths of two of his children in Aleppo on January 3, 2013.

Syrians look for survivors amid the rubble of a building targeted by a missile in the al-Mashhad neighborhood of Aleppo on January 7, 2013.

Rebels launch a missile near the Abu Baker brigade in Al-Bab, Syria, on January 16, 2013.

An aerial view shows the Zaatari refugee camp near the Jordanian city of Mafraq on July 18, 2013.

The UN Security Council passes a resolution September 27, 2013, requiring Syria to eliminate its arsenal of chemical weapons. Al-Assad said he would abide by the resolution.

Residents run from a fire at a gasoline and oil shop in Aleppo's Bustan Al-Qasr neighborhood on October 20, 2013. Witnesses said the fire was caused by a bullet from a pro-government sniper.

Syrian children wait as doctors perform medical checkups at a refugee center in Sofia, Bulgaria, on October 26, 2013.

An injured man is helped following an airstrike in Aleppo's Maadi neighborhood on December 17, 2013.

A man holds a baby who was rescued from rubble after an airstrike in Aleppo on February 14, 2014.

A US ship staff member wears personal protective equipment at a naval airbase in Rota, Spain, on April 10, 2014. A former container vessel was fitted out with at least $10 million of gear to let it take on about 560 metric tons of Syria's most dangerous chemical agents and sail them out to sea, officials said.

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires a rocket-propelled grenade during heavy clashes in Aleppo on April 27, 2014.

A giant poster of al-Assad is seen in Damascus on May 31, 2014, ahead of the country's presidential elections. He received 88.7% of the vote in the country's first election after the civil war broke out.

Rebel fighters execute two men on July 25, 2014, in Binnish, Syria. The men were reportedly charged by an Islamic religious court with detonating several car bombs.

Photographs of victims of the Assad regime are displayed as a Syrian army defector known as "Caesar," center, appears in disguise to speak before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington. The July 31, 2014, briefing was called "Assad's Killing Machine Exposed: Implications for U.S. Policy." Caesar, apparently a witness to the regime's brutality, smuggled more than 50,000 photographs depicting the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents. CNN cannot independently confirm the authenticity of the photos, documents and testimony referenced in the report.

Volunteers remove a dead body from under debris after shelling in Aleppo on August 29, 2014. According to the Syrian Civil Defense, barrel bombs are now the greatest killer of civilians in many parts of Syria. The White Helmets are a humanitarian organization that tries to save lives and offer relief.

Medics tend to a man's injuries at a field hospital in Douma after airstrikes on September 20, 2014.

A long-exposure photograph shows a rocket being launched in Aleppo on October 5, 2014.

Rebel fighters dig caves in the mountains for bomb shelters in the northern countryside of Hama on March 9, 2015.

Nusra Front fighters inspect a helicopter belonging to pro-government forces after it crashed in the rebel-held Idlib countryside on March 22, 2015.

A Syrian child fleeing the war gets lifted over fences to enter Turkish territory illegally near a border crossing at Akcakale, Turkey, on June 14, 2015.

A refugee carries mattresses as he re-enters Syria from Turkey on June 22, 2015, after Kurdish People's Protection Units regained control of the area around Tal Abyad, Syria, from ISIS.

A sandstorm blows over damaged buildings in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of Damascus, on September 7, 2015.

Members of a Syrian opposition group attack the headquarters of al-Assad regime forces in the Aleppo villages of Nubul and al-Zahraa on February 12, 2016.

This still image, taken from a video posted by the Aleppo Media Center, shows a young boy in an ambulance after an airstrike in Aleppo, Syria, on August 17, 2016. It took nearly an hour to dig the boy, identified as Omran Daqneesh, out from the rubble, an activist told CNN. The airstrike destroyed his home, where he lived with his parents and two siblings. Director of the Aleppo Media Center Yousef Saddiq said Omran's 10-year-old brother, Ali, died from his injuries.

Syrian men carrying babies make their way through the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held Salihin neighborhood of the northern city of Aleppo, on September 11, 2016.

Smoke rises after an airstrike in Aleppo on October 4, 2016.

Arabic writing that reads "some day we will return" is seen on a bus window as civilians evacuate Aleppo on December 15, 2016. The evacuations began under a new ceasefire between rebels and pro-government forces.

This photo, provided by the activist Idlib Media Center, shows dead children after a suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017. Dozens of people were killed, according to multiple activist groups. The United States responded a few days later by launching between 50-60 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian government airbase. US officials said the base was home to warplanes that carried out the chemical attack. Syria has repeatedly denied it had anything to do with the attack.

Members of the UN Security Council raise their hands on April 12, 2017, as they vote in favor of a draft resolution that condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Residents of the war-torn city of Douma break their Ramadan fast on June 18, 2017.

A member of the Syrian pro-regime forces fires a machine gun as a comrade holds his feeding ammunition belt on November 11, 2017. It was during an advance toward rebel-held positions west of Aleppo.

A child receives medical treatment after a village was attacked in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region on February 25, 2018. Several people were treated for exposure to chlorine gas, opposition groups said, as airstrikes and artillery fire from the regime continued. CNN was unable to independently verify claims that chlorine was used as a weapon.

Bodies lie on the ground in the rebel-held city of Douma, Syria, on April 8, 2018. According to activist groups, helicopters dropped barrel bombs filled with toxic gas on Douma, which has been the focus of a renewed government offensive that launched in mid-February. The Syrian government and its key ally, Russia, vehemently denied involvement and accused rebel groups of fabricating the attack to hinder the army's advances and provoke international military intervention.

Damascus skies erupt with anti-aircraft fire as the US and its allies launch an attack on Syria's capital early on April 14, 2018. US President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons. Trump says the strikes are part of a sustained military response, in coordination with France and the United Kingdom.

Women and children who fled the Islamic State group's embattled holdout of Baghouz wait in the back of a truck in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on February 14, 2019.

Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the "White Helmets," search the rubble of a collapsed building following an explosion in the town of Jisr al-Shughur on April 24, 2019.

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters take part in a battle in Syria's northeastern town of Ras al-Ain as Turkey and its allies continue their assault on Kurdish-held border towns in northeastern Syria on October 14, 2019.

A member of the Syrian Violet Organization carries an injured boy at a makeshift hospital following a regime air strike on a vegetable market in Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib on January 15, 2020.

A Syrian man mourns the death of family members next to the rubble of his house following a reported airstrike on the village of Kafr Nuran, in the northern province of Aleppo, on January 21, 2020.

A displaced boy carries a bag of bread as people queue for food distributed by a nonprofit in Idlib on February 19, 2020.

Members of Syrian Civil Defence and Turkish-backed Syrian forces search for victims in the aftermath of a car bomb explosion near a security checkpoint in the town of Azaz on March 19, 2020.

Health workers carry the body of a 62-year-old displaced Syrian man who died of Covid-19, to be buried in the town of Salqin, in Idlib province, on September 17, 2020.

An aerial picture shows Syrians waving the national flag during a gathering in the rebel-held city of Idlib on March 15, 2021, as they mark 10 years since the nationwide anti-government protests that sparked the country's devastating civil war.

In photos: Syria's civil war

Prev Next

Last week’s incident is just the latest in a series of suspected chemical attacks against civilians. The OPCW has recorded more than 390 allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria since its investigation began in 2014, said Peter Wilson, the UK’s envoy to the OPCW.

May doubles down on blaming Syrian regime

British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron have faced questions about their decision to join the United States in launching missiles at suspected chemical weapons sites in Syria.

AMMAN, JORDAN - NOVEMBER 30: British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses guests and media during a speech at the Jordan museum on November 30, 2017 in Amman, Jordan. Theresa May has visited Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Jordan during her diplomatic tour of the region. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

video

Related video Theresa May's statement on airstrikes in Syria

But in a meeting with Parliament on Monday, May said it’s clear Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime was behind the suspected chemical attack.

“From the intelligence I’ve seen, I’m in absolutely no doubt that the Syrian regime was responsible for the attack on Douma,” she said.

“We must retain the right to commit our armed forces where it is right to do so without having a debate in Parliament.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani both called the missile strike an “illegal action” that “seriously damages the prospects for a political settlement in Syria.”

Putin stressed that if “such actions, carried out in violation of the UN Charter, continue, it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations,” the Kremlin said.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 14: Protesters gather outside the White House and speak out against the latest developments of the strike in Syria on April 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Yesterday the United States and European allies Britain and France launched airstrikes in Syria as punishment for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's suspected role in last week's chemical weapons attacks that killed upwards of 40 people. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Related article New push in UN to end Syria's chemical weapons following strikes

The UK opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party, also questioned the strikes, saying Saturday that he believed the “action was legally questionable,” and called on May to publish the UK attorney general’s advice that approved the bombings.

As May and Macron face critics at home, their representatives to the United Nations will, with the United States, push for a resolution calling for an investigation into the alleged chemical weapons attack.

The renewed push for a UN-backed diplomatic solution follows a volatile emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, called by Moscow on Saturday, in which Russia condemned the strikes as a violation of international law.

War of words

The attack in Douma has also heightened tensions between Russia and Western powers. More than 100 Russian diplomats were expelled from more than 20 countries in March over the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy on British soil, which the United Kingdom and United States have blamed on the Russian government. Russia denies the accusations.

- Source: CNN " data-fave-thumbnails="{"big": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180414045058-missiles.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_1080,w_1919,c_fill/h_540,w_960" }, "small": { "uri": "https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/180414045058-missiles.jpg?q=x_0,y_0,h_1080,w_1919,c_fill/h_540,w_960" } }" data-vr-video="false" data-show-html="" data-byline-html="

" data-timestamp-html="

Updated 7:19 PM EDT, Mon April 16, 2018

" data-check-event-based-preview="" data-is-vertical-video-embed="false" data-network-id="" data-publish-date="2018-04-14T09:19:47Z" data-video-section="world" data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/14/syria-us-airstrike-interception.cnn" data-branding-key="" data-video-slug="syria us airstrike interception" data-first-publish-slug="syria us airstrike interception" data-video-tags="biological and chemical weapons,bombings,europe,france,middle east,middle east and north africa,military,military operations,military weapons,northern europe,syria,syria conflict,united kingdom,unrest, conflicts and war,weapons and arms,weapons of mass destruction,western europe" data-details="">

Video Ad Feedback

Video reportedly shows missile interception

00:56 - Source: CNN

Russian officials last week claimed British intelligence agencies had helped stage the suspected chemical attack in Douma.

“Yet again, Russia is spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation designed to undermine the integrity of the OPCW’s fact finding mission,” said Wilson, the UK envoy to the OPCW.

This photo provided Tuesday, April 4, 2017 by the Syrian anti-government activist group Edlib Media Center, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Syrian doctors treating a child following a suspected chemical attack, at a makeshift hospital, in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, northern Idlib province, Syria. The suspected chemical attack killed dozens of people on Tuesday, Syrian opposition activists said, describing the attack as among the worst in the country's six-year civil war. (Edlib Media Center, via AP)

Related article Why children get killed with barrel bombs and chemical attacks

“A significant body of information, including intelligence, indicates the Syrian regime is responsible for this latest attack.”

The US envoy to the OPCW, Kenneth D. Ward, said he was concerned Russia may have “tampered with” the site of the Douma attack.

“This raises serious questions about the ability of the (team) to do its job,” Ward said Monday.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the BBC’s “Hardtalk” show that there had been no Russian tampering. He said Russia sent experts to the site last week and found “no trace” of chemical weapons use.

Fresh Russia sanctions expected

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin would announce new sanctions against Russia on Monday.

Damascus skies erupt with surface to air missile fire as the U.S. launches an attack on Syria targeting different parts of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, early Saturday, April 14, 2018. Syria's capital has been rocked by loud explosions that lit up the sky with heavy smoke as U.S. President Donald Trump announced airstrikes in retaliation for the country's alleged use of chemical weapons. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

video

Related video Trump's "Mission Accomplished" in Syria?

“If you look at what Russia is doing, they continue to be involved with all the wrong actors, whether their involvement in Ukraine, whether you look at how they are supporting Venezuela, whether you look in Syria and their way of propping up Assad and working with Iran,” Haley said on “Fox News Sunday.”

She said Trump has “talked to our allies and said they need to step up more. They need to do more. And it shouldn’t just be us doing it. … If we leave, when we leave, it will be because we know that everything is moving forward.”

Despite their unified stance to eliminate chemical weapons from Syria, the United States, United Kingdom and France haven’t given a consistent strategy on how to handle the Syrian conflict long term.

CNN’s Richard Roth, Katie Polglase and Mary Ilyushina contributed to this report.