Revised UN resolution on Syria attack circulated

BRITAIN, FRANCE and the United States have circulated a revised UN draft resolution that would condemn the reported use of chemical weapons in northern Syria and demand that all parties provide speedy access to investigators to the sites.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters yesterday that the resolution also calls for those responsible for the attack on Khan Sheikhoun on April 4 to be identified and brought to justice. The sponsors are hoping for a vote this afternoon.

Rycroft said the resolution was written with the aim of getting approval from all 15 council members, but the draft keeps in a paragraph that the Russians objected to last week.

It emphasises that Syria is required to provide investigators with flight plans, logs and information about air operations on April 4 and names of helicopter squadron commanders as well as immediate access to airbases where investigators believe chemical attacks may have been launched.

A Lebanese official close to the Syrian government says nearly 12,000 people will be moved around Syria today in a planned population transfer arranged between the Government and rebels. The official, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said 3,800 people will be evacuated from opposition-held areas around Damascus to the rebel-held province of Idlib in northern Syria today.