An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council has called for a prompt investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack outside the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The main Syrian opposition group says more than 1,000 people have been killed on the outskirts of Damascus and that Bashar al-Assad's government is responsible.
The Syrian government denies using chemical weapons and says the claims are a desperate attempt to cover up defeats.
Al Jazeera's John Terrett, reporting from New York, said the Council released "a very vague, bland and tepid statement" after the two-hour meeting.
"The Security Council is hobbled on issue of Syria, they can't agree on anything," he said.
Our correspondent has the latest from the UN, in New York.
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