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WAR REPORT
Shelling from Syria spills into Lebanon
by Staff Writers
Beirut (AFP) March 20, 2013


UN says no formal Syria request for chemical weapon inquiry
United Nations (AFP) March 20, 2013 - The United Nations said Wednesday that Syria has made no formal request for a UN investigation into government claims that opposition rebels have used chemical weapons.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky appeared to counter a statement by Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari that Syria had asked for the "independent" inquiry into the claims.

Nesirky said he had briefed Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Jaafari's comments to reporters. "I think we will have something further to say once we have received a formal request which we have so far not received," Nesirky told reporters.

Just before, Jaafari said "my government has requested, a few minutes ago, the secretary general of the United Nations to form a specialised, independent and neutral technical mission to investigate the use by the terrorist groups operating in Syria of chemical weapons yesterday against civilians."

President Bashar al-Assad's government says chemical arms were used Tuesday in the town of Khan al-Assal near the conflict hotspot of Aleppo.

The Syrian opposition has accused government forces of using chemical weapons and also demanded an independent investigation.

Ban has been in touch with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which implements the Chemical Weapons Convention, over the allegations.

"The secretary general remains convinced that the use of chemical weapons by any party under any circumstances would constitute an outrageous crime," said Nesirky.

Ban and OPCW secretary general Ahmet Uzumcu agreed to "maintain close contacts as developments unfold," said Nesirky.

UN Security Council nations are remaining cautious about the claims.

"We simply don't have any information to corroborate, verify, substantiate" the allegations by either side, a senior UN diplomat said.

At least three shells and several missiles fired in fighting in Syria landed inside Lebanon on Wednesday, residents and security sources said, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

"Around 9:00 am (0700GMT), two shells and a rocket fell on the outskirts of the village of Sahlet al-Ma" near the border with Syria, a local security services official told AFP.

The area, in the northern part of Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, is adjacent to Syria's Homs province, the scene of heavy fighting in recent months between rebels and regime forces.

Residents said the missiles had hit near a stone mill, causing no damage or injuries.

Lebanon's official news agency said that five missiles had hit Lebanese territory, and later added that an additional missile had landed in the same area on Wednesday afternoon.

It was the latest incident in which fighting in Syria has spilled over the border.

On Tuesday, President Michel Sleiman slammed as "unacceptable" a series of Syrian air raids a day earlier that targeted sites inside Lebanese territory. Syria denied launching the attack.

Regime shells Damascus, air raids in Hama
Beirut (AFP) March 20, 2013 - Regime forces shelled areas in the south of Damascus on Wednesday, including the Yarmuk camp, while warplanes bombed areas in the north and centre of the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The watchdog reported shelling in Al-Hajar al-Aswad just outside Damascus, and said southern neighbourhoods of the capital, including the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp and Qadam district, were the scene of "fierce fighting between rebel fighters and regime troops overnight."

Shelling also targeted the Jubar district, where battles were ongoing between rebels. A shell landed in the Qassaa neighbourhood, a largely Christian district, the group said, adding that it had no information on casualties.

Around the capital, the Observatory also reported fighting in the Daraya neighbourhood, which regime forces have been trying to retake.

South of Damascus, the Observatory said regime forces were also shelling Beit Jan in the Syrian-held part of the Golan Heights, which is mostly occupied by Israel.

It also reported regime air raids in Raqa province in the north, where rebel forces seized control of Raqa city earlier this month, as well as in the central province of Hama.

In the northern city of Aleppo, government warplanes bombed the southern Sukari neighbourhood, causing casualties, the group said.

In the central city of Homs, the watchdog reported clashes between government troops and rebels in the Baba Amr neighbourhood, after the area was shelled overnight.

According to a preliminary toll from the Observatory, at least 32 people were killed throughout the country on Wednesday.

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