As chemical weapons inspectors wait to investigate an alleged strike near the Syrian capital of Damascus, former inspectors say the challenges the current team faces are daunting. The inspectors arrived in Syria on April 14, on a mission to investigate a suspected chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma seven days earlier. Unconfirmed reports from the scene suggest that dozens may have died. But so far the inspectors have been unable to reach the location of the attack to verify the facts for themselves. A United Nations reconnaissance team that visited the area on Tuesday came under fire and was forced to turn back. For now, the inspectors are sitting in their hotel rooms, waiting. "There's nothing they can do. They can't force their way in," says Dieter Rothbacher, a former chemical weapons inspector. The team wants to gather the evidence while it's fresh, he says. "Every day that passes the pressure gets bigger." The inspectors were sent by the Organisation for the
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