UN experts investigating a suspected chemical weapons attack have left Syria, opening a window into a possible US strike after Washington concluded the Damascus regime unleashed poison gas on civilians.
The 13 inspectors, led by Ake Sellstrom, left their Damascus hotel before dawn and crossed early morning into Lebanon at the town of Chtaura in a convoy of vehicles.
They are due to report back immediately to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who has appealed to the West to allow time for their findings to be assessed.
Their departure heightened expectations of a US-led military strike on the Syrian regime, after Barack Obama gave his clearest indication yet that an attack was imminent.
"We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale," Obama said at the White House.
"We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act."
The 13 inspectors, led by Ake Sellstrom, left their Damascus hotel before dawn and crossed early morning into Lebanon at the town of Chtaura in a convoy of vehicles.
They are due to report back immediately to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who has appealed to the West to allow time for their findings to be assessed.
Their departure heightened expectations of a US-led military strike on the Syrian regime, after Barack Obama gave his clearest indication yet that an attack was imminent.
"We cannot accept a world where women and children and innocent civilians are gassed on a terrible scale," Obama said at the White House.
"We are looking at the possibility of a limited, narrow act."
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