AUGUST 2013 

- 21: Syrian troops launch an offensive in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus. The opposition accuses the army of chemical weapons strikes east and southwest of the capital, including one in Moadamiyet al-Sham, that killed more than 1,300 people.

The Syrian government denies the claims.

Videos posted on the Internet show medics attending to suffocating children and hospitals being overwhelmed.

Syria's ally Russia denounces a "premeditated provocation" while the United Nations calls for a probe.

- 22: International pressure mounts on Syria to allow UN experts, present there since 18 August, to investigate the chemical claims.

The Syrian army attacks several rebel-controlled zones near Damascus, including those where the chemical attacks allegedly took place.

- 23: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says such an attack would constitute a "crime against humanity."

London says it believes the Syrian regime was behind the attack.

The United States says it will send a fourth guided-missile destroyer to the region and US commanders have prepared a range of "options" for President Barack Obama if he chooses to launch an attack on the Syrian regime.

- 24: Doctors without Borders (MSF) says 3,600 people showed "neurotoxic symptoms" and 355 of them died but that scientific proof is still lacking.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports 322 deaths.

Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron say there are "increasing signs" of a chemical attack carried out by the Syrian regime.

- 25: US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said the military is ready to take action against the Syrian regime if necessary. Russia and Iran warn against US military action.

French President Francois Hollande says "a body of evidence" indicates there was a chemical attack.

Syria says UN experts can investigate the claims.

- 26: UN visit Moadamiyet al-Sham, southwest of Damascus, where they speak to doctors and to victims of the suspected chemical attack, despite coming under sniper fire on the way to the town.

Assad warns the US of "failure" if it attacks, says accusations his troops used chemical weapons are an "insult to common sense".

British Foreign Secretary William Hague says an international response to the suspected attack is possible without unanimous UN Security Council backing. Cameron cuts short his holiday.

Turkey says it would join an international coalition against neighbouring Syria even if the Security Council fails to reach consensus on the issue.

Iraq, another neighbour, says it opposes the use of its airspace or territory in any attack on Syria.