Syrian lawmakers: Airstrikes could set off 'mass murder' [UPDATE] Opposition fighters and civilians stand near members of a United Nations (UN) delegation as UN arms experts inspect the site where rockets fell in Damascus' Eastern Ghouta suburb on August 28, 2013. LONDON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Syrian lawmakers in a letter to the British House of Commons warned Thursday military action against the Assad regime could lead to "sectarian mass murder." Also Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the inspection team in Syria is expected finish its work Friday. The team has been investigating what rebels say was a chemical attack last week by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad. French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday the country is capable of joining air attacks on Syria if President Francois Hollande orders the action, Radio France Internationale reported. The Syrian letter, addressed to John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, compared the situation to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and to the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which led to the outbreak of World War I, The New York Times reported. The Iraq invasion followed false claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction, while World War I was a result of "breakdowns in communication," the letter said. Bercow confirmed receiving the letter, signed by his Syrian counterpart, Jihad Allaham, and a spokeswoman said it is available to members of Parliament in the library. The Times said it obtained a copy from a Syrian businessman. In the letter, the Syrians suggested international airstrikes would "plunge secular Syria, and indeed the whole region, into a cataclysm of sectarian mass murder." The lawmakers depicted Syria as linked to the west by opposition to terrorism and religious extremism without mentioning the lack of democracy in the country. Ban, in Vienna to attend a peace forum, told reporters the U.N. inspectors will report to him as soon as they leave Syria. He said he spoke with President Obama Wednesday, discussing how the United Nations and countries would work together and how inspectors could expedite their investigation. "I have also expressed my wish that this investigation team should be allowed to continue their work as mandated by the member states and I told him that we will surely share the information and the analysis of samples and evidence with Members of the Security Council and U.N. members in general," Ban said. Syria wrote to Ban, asking that the U.N. weapons team be allowed to stay longer to investigate alleged rebel use of chemical weapons in three attacks on regime forces this month. Britain deployed fighter jets to Cyprus in case Assad retaliates for any airstrikes, The Daily Telegraph reported Thursday. Royal Air Force sources told the Telegraph the Typhoon fighters would be stationed at Akrotiri air base to act as a "defensive shield" if a "rogue aircraft" attacks the base. Also Wednesday, the Russian navy said plans to beef up its Mediterranean flotilla with ships from its Northern fleet was a "routine rotation," not linked to the Syria crisis. The Telegraph said a senior member of the Russian General Staff was quoted as saying at least two vessels would be redeployed from the Arctic and the Atlantic to "adjust" Russia's naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean. The military moves by Britain and Russia came as the British Parliament prepared to consider Prime Minister David Cameron's watered-down measure concerning military action in Syria in response to reports that Assad forces used chemical weapons against Syrians, which Assad has denied. Late Wednesday, Cameron said he will wait for a report from U.N. weapons inspectors before seeking parliamentary approval for "direct British involvement" in the Syrian intervention. Observers said the Labor Party could still refuse to back the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, noting he was "wrestling" with deciding whether to support military action, told the BBC evidence indicated Syrian opposition forces were incapable of carrying out the chemical attack last week in suburbs of Damascus in which hundreds, possibly more than 1,000, died. In the United States, a bipartisan group of House members -- 98 Republicans and 18 Democrats -- signed a letter demanding Obama seek congressional authorization before a military strike. "I have no interest in any kind of open-ended conflict in Syria," Obama said, but "there need to be international consequences" for the chemical strikes. The Security Council was meeting again Thursday. The U.S. State Department responded saying protracted Security Council discussions were immaterial to Obama's decision. Therefore, the United States will continue its consultations and will take appropriate actions to respond in the days ahead.