Chemical watchdog says to deploy to Syria as threats escalate

The global chemical watchdog said today it will soon deploy a team to the site of an alleged toxic attack in Syria, as the regime in Damascus was on high alert after Western threats of a forceful response.

Warnings from US President Donald Trump there would be a "big price to pay" for the alleged attack have raised the spectre of an American strike on Syria, setting up a potential confrontation with regime backer Russia.

Moscow, which has troops on the ground in Syria, has already warned that US military action would be "very, very dangerous".

After threatening a decision within days, Trump on Tuesday abruptly cancelled his first trip to Latin America in order to oversee Syria developments.

Potentially looking to head off Western military strikes, Syria's foreign ministry said it had invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to visit the site of the alleged attack.

"Syria is ready to provide all necessary assistance to the mission," it said.

Several hours after the invitation, the OPCW said it will "shortly" deploy a fact-finding team to the rebel-held Syrian town of Douma to probe the alleged poison gas attack.

In anticipation for a potential strike, Syria's military forces across the country were also simultaneously mobilising, according to a war monitor.

"At midnight, the army command put all military positions on alert, including airports and all bases, for a period of 72 hours," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today.

The Britain-based war monitor, which relies on sources across Syria, said units were preparing themselves for rapid deployment.

Even residents of Damascus were bracing themselves.

"I have lived through seven American presidents, but Trump is the craziest and his administration is unbalanced," said Abu Fadi, a retired resident.

"I think his threats are to be feared, and we should take them seriously." In 2017, Trump launched a cruise missile strike against a Syrian air base after a sarin attack the UN later pinned on President Bashar al-Assad.