Mortar fired at Russian embassy in Damascus

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/22/syria-mortar-russian-embassy

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A mortar round landed in the Russian embassy compound in Damascus on Sunday, Syria's state news agency said. There was no immediate report of casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activist group, reported that the embassy had been the target of several previous failed rocket attacks by rebels. Russia is a leading backer of Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president.

The attack comes in the wake of continued diplomatic wrangling over how to collect Syria's arsenal of chemical and biological agents to prevent any repeat of the August attack believed to have killed more than 1,400 people, including at least 400 children. Last week, a UN report confirmed the use of sarin in the attack. Russia blamed the rebels, while the US and its European and Arab allies said Assad's forces were responsible. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that Moscow was ready to send military observers to Syria to ensure security for efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons.

Security is one of the plan's major challenges, including how to prevent theft of the weapons.

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