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The incident took place on the team’s first day at work as they headed out to investigate controversial allegations of a chemical attack last week near Damascus.

SEE ALSO: Chemical Attack Kills Hundreds In Syria

The inspectors need to leave the safe areas and enter dangerous war zones in order to conduct the investigation.

No U.N personnel were injured in the attack, according to a spokesman. The U.N. team is unarmed.

SEE ALSO: Too Little, Too Late for Syria

It is unclear as to who was behind the sniper fires. The U.N. has called on all parties to respect the neutrality of the mission.

Later in the morning, the U.N. said that the inspectors were able to enter the areas that were allegedly struck by chemical weapons. They had visited hospitals and met with survivors and others to gather evidence.

Read more at The New York Times.

Reach Executive Producer Syuzanna Petrosyan here. Follow her on Twitter.