Syria - the drumbeat of war growing louder

(AFP) Syria vowed on Tuesday it would defend itself as the US and its allies edged closer to launching strikes against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, accused of deadly chemical weapons attacks.

UN arms experts' efforts to investigate the suspected attacks, in which hundreds were said to have been killed, were delayed over security concerns while Russia, Assad's most powerful ally, warned any use of force would have "catastrophic consequences."

Asian, Gulf and European stock markets nosedived and world oil prices hit a six-month high over fears of possible military intervention, as the drumbeat of war appeared to grow louder in Western capitals.

But Damascus responded by insisting it would defend itself against any strikes. "We have two options: either to surrender, or to defend ourselves with the means at our disposal," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said in a Damascus news conference.

"The second choice is the best: we will defend ourselves."

Muallem said Syria had capabilities that would "surprise" the world, and warned any military action against it would serve the interests of Israel and Al-Qaeda.

Limited military strikes reportedly under consideration

The minister was speaking as the US and its allies moved closer to acting against Assad's regime, with the Washington Post reporting that President Barack Obama was weighing limited military strikes on targets in Syria.

Such action would probably last no more than two days and would involve missiles or long-range bomber planes, striking military targets not directly related to Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, the newspaper said, citing senior administration officials.

UN chemical weapons experts, meanwhile, postponed efforts to collect more evidence from the site of alleged chemical weapons attacks on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21 in which more than 300 people were reportedly killed.

The inspectors had been due to visit the sites again on Tuesday, but Muallem said their trip had been put off because rebels failed to guarantee their security.

The UN convoy had come under sniper fire on Monday as it tried to approach the suburb where the attack apparently took place, but managed to visit victims receiving treatment in two nearby hospitals.

The group of investigators was originally due to leave Syria on Sunday, but their stay could be extended as they probe allegations of chemical weapons use in the brutal 29-month conflict, charges Damascus resolutely denies.

US and Russia clash over Syria action

Washington, however, has accused Assad's regime of a cover-up, and has said it will provide more evidence of who was behind the attacks.

"Let me be clear," US Secretary of State John Kerry said, "the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, the killing of women and children and innocent bystanders by chemical weapons is a moral obscenity."

"Make no mistake. President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapons against the world's most vulnerable people."

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, which has provided Syria's regime with diplomatic cover by blocking UN Security Council action, was unimpressed by the mounting evidence of an atrocity.

He told British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday that there was no proof Damascus had used chemical weapons, Cameron's office said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Russia would not get involved in any military conflict, and Moscow has warned intervention would have "catastrophic consequences" for the region.

Prepared to act without UN resolution

Nevertheless, senior military officers from Western and Muslim countries began gathering in Jordan on Monday to discuss the regional impact of the war in Syria.

US army chief General Martin Dempsey was to take part, along with chiefs of staff from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, Jordanian state media said, while a senior Israeli delegation visited the White House for high-level talks on the Syrian crisis and the showdown over Iran's controversial nuclear programme.

Amman has said, however, that its territory "will not be used as (a) launchpad for any military action against Damascus."

Britain, meanwhile, said its armed forces were drawing up contingency plans for action in Syria and Foreign Secretary William Hague said the West could act even without full Security Council backing.