Fact-finding mission to Syria

The international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said that a special factfinding mission is on its way to Syria and will start investigating the suspected chemical attack there this weekend.

The OPCW team will be seeking to find out if and what kind of chemicals were used in the attack in the town of Douma last weekend, the organisation said in a statement yesterday.

Western powers are convinced a chemical attack was instigated by the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-assad while Syria and Russia have dismissed such reports.

Syria’s United Nations ambassador said it will facilitate a visit by international chemical weapons inspectors at “any point they want”. The attack killed more than 40 people, according to Syrian opposition activists.