Syria urges UN action against Qaeda rebels

Syria demanded that the UN slap sanctions on a jihadist group after it pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, as UN said Western nations have "hard evidence" of chemical weapons usage in Syria.
In a letter to the United Nations, Syria's foreign ministry said it "expects the Security Council to fulfil its role and preserve global security," and class the Al-Nusra Front as an al-Qaeda-linked group, state media reported.
A sanctions regime was introduced by the UN to punish individuals and entities linked to al-Qaeda, freezing assets, banning travel and imposing an embargo on arms destined for the terror network.
The letter followed a pledge by Al-Nusra Front on Wednesday of allegiance to al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri and support for his call for an Islamic state to be created in Syria, raising concerns by Western nations about weapons falling into the wrong hands.
Meanwhile, UN diplomats said Western nations have "hard evidence" that chemical weapons have been used at least once in the Syrian war but a UN investigation is now unlikely to get into the country.
President Bashar al-Assad's government asked the UN to investigate its claims against rebel forces. But it is now refusing to let international experts into the country because the UN wants to look into claims against Assad's forces.
"In one case we have hard evidence," a western diplomat told reporters, commenting on the rival claims.
The Syrian government called for a UN investigation after it said opposition rebels fired a chemical weapon shell into Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province on March 19.
At least 28 people were killed in violence across Syria yesterday, according to a preliminary toll, most of them in Damascus and Aleppo in the north. More than 70,000 people have been killed in Syria's two-year conflict, the UN says.