Eurasia Press & News
A team of UN experts investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks in Syria expects to complete its in-country work by Monday, the United Nations said on Friday.
In a statement issued from Damascus, the UN said the team would investigate seven alleged attacks and “expects to finalise its activities in the country by Monday, 30th September”.
UN experts on the ground in Syria are to visit seven sites of alleged chemical weapons attacks around the country.
The experts aim to prepare a comprehensive report “by late October” that would be “based on a number of allegations… of which seven have been found to warrant investigation,” it said in a statement.
The UN mission is separate from a team of Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inspectors due to get to work by next week in Syria destroying its chemical arsenal.
The alleged attacks being investigated include a March 19 incident in Khan al-Assal, in northern Aleppo province, which both the regime and rebels reported, each accusing the other side of responsibility.
Other sites that will be investigated include the Sheikh Maqsud neighbourhood in Aleppo city, allegedly the site of an April attack, and Saraqeb in northwestern Idlib province.
The team is also continuing investigations into an August 21 attack in the Ghouta area in the suburbs of Damascus, which occurred during their group’s first mission to Syria last month.
The experts visited the site of that alleged attack during their first trip and issued a preliminary report earlier this month confirming the use of the chemical weapon sarin there.
In addition, the team is investigating an alleged attack on August 22 in the Jubar district of Damascus, and a seventh incident reported in Ashrafiyeh Sahnaya in Damascus province on August 25.
