The use of chemical weapons is a crime against humanity and must be punished, U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon told journalists Monday in Seoul, South Korea, SIA reports citing CNN.
Washington may be preparing to take on the role of the punisher, if reports the Syrian government used poison gas against civilians are verified.
U.N. inspectors on the ground in Syria may be closer to doing that.
They plan to inspect the site of last week's attack, the Damascus suburb of Jobar, "in just a matter of hours," Moon said. The Syrian government for days would not let them approach the site, and they fear the chemical evidence may have dissipated.
"Every hour counts. We cannot afford any more delays. We have all seen the horrifying images on our television screens and through social media. Clearly this was a major and terrible incident," Moon said.
"We owe it to the families of the victims to act."
On Sunday, the Syrian government agreed to grant the inspectors full access. Its army is to cease all hostilities as long as the U.N. inspectors are on the ground.
As they prepared for the inspection, there was an explosion near the site they plan to visit. Some witnesses said it was caused by an incoming ordnance, perhaps a mortar.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday repeated the denial that his army had anything to do with the use of poison gas.
"The area of the claimed attack is in contiguity with the Syrian Army positions, so how is it possible that any country would use chemical weapons in an area where its own forces are located?" he said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia.
He accused the United States, Britain and France of exploiting the incident by trying to verify rebel allegations instead of verifying facts.
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