UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has deplored the use of chemical weapons in Syria and demanded that those responsible are held accountable.

The US State Department has said it is cancelling a meeting with Russian diplomats on Syria this week.

Syrian state media has accused rebels of using chemical arms today against government troops trying to storm a contested area of Damascus.

The United Nations disarmament chief has arrived in Damascus to press the Syrian government to allow UN experts to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack this week.

The United Nations yesterday demanded Syria give its chemical weapons experts immediate access to rebel-held Damascus suburbs where poison gas appears to have killed hundreds just a few miles from the UN team’s hotel.