UN team fired at by unidentified sniper
联合国巡查员遭遇狙击手袭击

UN inspectors in Syria on Monday visited one of the sites of alleged large-scale chemical attacks in a Damascus suburb. But not before they came under fire from an unidentified sniper. The Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of carrying out the attack.

UN chemical weapons inspectors left their hotel in the morning in a convoy of cars.

But the journey proved a dangerous one.

On their way to Moadamiyeh, a western suburb of Damascus and one of the areas where last week’s alleged chemical attack occurred, the investigators came under fire from snipers.

The lead vehicle was damaged, but all the inspectors were safe.

They continued their visit to the area where they spoke to doctors and victims of the alleged attacks at a makeshift hospital before they returned.

A UN spokesman later said the UN vehicle was "deliberately shot at multiple times".

He said, "The first car of the UN convoy were shooting by unidentified snipers."

The Syrian government has accused rebels of firing at the UN team. The opposition has blamed it on pro-Assad militiamen, saying the shooting did not take place in an opposition-controlled area.

He said, "There is a line that separates the rebel controlled area, the Free Syrian Army controlled area and Assad controlled area. I would like to emphasize that the car was hit before crossing to our side"

As the U.N. inspectors came under fire, evidence of an alleged large-scale chemical weapons attack they are seeking is already fading from the scene.

Syrian opposition activists have said that large scale chemical weapons’ attacks occurred on August the 21st in towns in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The towns primarily border Damascus in the east while Moadamiyeh where the inspectors went on Monday lies in the west.

The longer it takes the 20-member team to get to the other spots where the alleged attacks took place, the harder it will be for the mission to find meaningful remnants of toxic munitions.

Some countries fear that the evidence of the attacks could have already been destroyed ahead of a visit to the sites by the team.

But the UN insists it is still possible for its team to gather evidence, despite the lapse of time.