Chemical weapons watchdog to send inspectors to Syria

The international chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it will send a fact-finding mission to the Syrian town where a suspected gas attack took place over the weekend, after receiving a request from the Syrian government and its Russian backers to investigate the allegations.

In a statement, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding team is “preparing to deploy to Syria shortly.”

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement would avert U.S. military action against Syria. President Donald Trump has vowed to respond “forcefully” to Saturday’s attack on civilians in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta suburbs, and warned that Russia — or any other nation found to share responsibility — will “pay a price.”

Syrian government forces were on high alert and taking precautionary measures Tuesday at military positions across the country amid fears of a U.S. strike in the aftermath of the attack near Damascus.

The OPCW, in its statement, said its technical Secretariat has asked the Syrian government to make the necessary arrangements for the deployment of a fact-finding mission. The group is the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, which has been signed by 192 member states. Syria became a member in 2013 as part of a deal brokered by the U.S. and Russia after a chemical attack in eastern Ghouta killed hundreds of people.