UNITED NATIONS: The joint United Nations-Arab League Envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi has said that any military action against Syria should be taken with a mandate from the UN Security Council.

Mr Brahimi told reporters that under international law military action must be taken after a decision by the Security Council.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pleaded on Wednesday for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict, even as world powers appeared to be moving towards punitive military strikes against President Bashar Assad’s regime for what the United States and its allies say was a deadly chemical weapons attack.

Mr Ban said a UN team investigating the alleged chemical attack must be given time to establish the facts. The investigators left their hotel on Wednesday and two anti-regime activists said the team was expected to visit an eastern suburb of Damascus affected by the Aug 21 strike.

Syria denied it was behind the alleged attack and challenged Washington to present proof to back up its accusations.

Responding to questions about Israel providing crucial evidence to the US government on the chemical weapons attack, Syrian Ambassador at the United Nations Bashaar al Jaafar said Israel had its own agenda.

Mr Ban said the UN inspection team had already “gathered valuable samples and interviewed victims and witnesses”.

Without explicitly referring to moves apparently being made to prepare for military action by US and its allies, Mr Ban urged a peaceful resolution to Syria’s civil war, according to a report from The Hague.

Mr Brahimi said that while evidence suggested “some form of substance” having been used in an incident that might have killed more than 1,000 people on the outskirts of Damascus last week, any military strike against the country in response must have the backing of the UN Security Council.

“It confirms how dangerous the situation in Syria is and how important it is for the Syrians and the international community to really develop the political will to …look for a solution.”

Mr Brahimi said it seemed that “some form of substance” had been used but echoed the call of the secretary-general that the team of UN inspectors on the ground must be given the opportunity to undertake their investigations.

“[Inspectors] have already spent one day in one area where this substance, whatever it is, has been used,” he said. “They have come back with a lot of samples; they talked also to doctors and witnesses. They are in another area just now, as we speak, and we are waiting to see what they are going to tell us.”

The UN-Arab League envoy emphasised that if anything the incident made it even more urgent to create conditions for a successful Geneva II Conference.

“I have spoken to the Americans and the Russians and both countries tell me that they are still interested and committed to the Geneva II conference,” Mr Brahimi said. “They both know that what has happened on Aug 21 will have an effect on how we proceed and how we get to that conference,” he added.