UN probes claims of Syria chemical attack
Print Edition
The UN Security Council scheduled emergency consultations last night on the latest allegation of chemical weapons use in Syria, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was determined to ensure a “thorough investigation” of all reported incidents.
UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said the secretary-general was “shocked” at the alleged use of chemical weapons on the eastern suburbs of Damascus yesterday.
Syrian anti-government activists accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that killed at least 100 people, including many children as they slept. The government has denied using chemical weapons.
The attack coincided with the visit to Syria by a 20-member UN chemical weapons team to investigate three previous allegations of chemical weapons use.
The team’s leader, Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, “is in discussions with the Syrian government on all issues pertaining to the alleged use of chemical weapons, including this most recent reported incident,” del Buey said.
Britain and France drafted a letter to the secretary-general requesting that the chemical weapons team investigate yesterday’s incident, and other countries including the United States have signed it.
“The secretary-general reaffirms his determination to ensure a thorough investigation of the reported alleged incidents that are brought to his attention by member states,” del Buey said.
Ban reiterated “that any use of chemical weapons, by any side, under any circumstances, would violate international humanitarian law,” he said.
Syrian anti-government activists accused the regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that killed at least 100 people, including many children as they slept, during intense artillery and rocket barrages on the eastern suburbs of Damascus, part of a fierce government offensive in the area.
The UN chemical weapons team were investigating three sites where chemical weapons attacks allegedly occurred during the past year. Their presence raises questions about why the regime — which called the claims of the attack yesterday “absolutely baseless” — would use chemicals at this time.
Shocking images emerged from the purported attack, showing pale, lifeless bodies of children lined up on floors of makeshift hospitals and others with oxygen masks on their faces as they were attended to by paramedics. There was no visible blood or wounds on their skin.
Syria’s Information Minister called the activists’ claim a “disillusioned and fabricated one whose objective is to deviate and mislead” the UN mission.
“All what has been said is ridiculous and naive, unscientific, illogical and subjective,” said Omran al-Zoubi, speaking to Syrian state television.
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