Watchdog to probe Aleppo gas attack

THE HAGUE — The global chemical weapons watchdog is considering sending inspectors to investigate an alleged poison gas attack by rebels in Syria that wounded dozens, its director-general said on Monday.

Syria’s state-run Sana news agency said the suspected chemical attack on Saturday was carried out by “terrorist groups positioned in Aleppo countryside” that fired shells containing toxic gases on three neighborhoods in Syria’s largest city.

Syria has asked the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to launch an investigation and officials at the watchdog have been in touch with UN experts “to assess the security situation on the ground for a possible deployment” of a factfinding mission, Director-General Fernando Arias told a meeting of the organization’s member states in The Hague.

The OPCW’s fact-finding mission is tasked with investigating alleged chemical attacks in Syria and reporting back to the organization and the United Nations.

It has probed several attacks in Syria blamed on both government forces and rebels. The OPCW also has recently been empowered to apportion blame for chemical attacks.

“The OPCW experts will continue to work independently to verify all allegations of use of chemicals, ” Arias said. —