UN chemical weapons inspectors visiting Syria are negotiating with the government to gain access to areas near Damascus, where the opposition claims hundreds of civilians were killed in alleged toxic gas attacks.
"The team has made a request to go to the areas of Eastern Ghouta on the outskirts of Damascus, but the response from the Syrian government is that the situation in the area is too dangerous for the team to enter," a Western diplomat based in Beirut said on condition of anonymity.
The main Syrian opposition group claims as many as 1300 people were killed in a chemical weapons attack on rebel areas near Damascus on Wednesday.
The UN Security Council called an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the allegations, which have been denied by President Bashar al-Assad's government.
Videos distributed by activists, the authenticity of which could not immediately be verified, showed medics attending to children.
Opposition activists said government troops are pursuing an offensive where the chemical bombings are alleged to have occurred.
The Local Coordination Committees, an opposition group documenting violence in Syria, said at least eight surface-to-surface rockets fell on Joubar.
France is seeking a reaction with "force" if a massacre in Syria involving chemical weapons is confirmed, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.
But diplomats said the Security Council did not adopt a formal declaration because of opposition from Russia and China, which for the last two years have blocked any condemnation of their ally in Damascus.
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