OPCW team yet to start Douma work: Syria envoy

United Nations, April 18: Experts from the OPCW chemical watchdog are awaiting the green light from a UN security assessment team before beginning their probe of an alleged chemical atta- ck in Douma, the Syrian ambassador said on Wednesday.

The security team entered Douma earlier to determine if the experts can deploy there on Wednedsay, said Ambassador Bashar Jaafari.

“If this UN security team decides that the situation is sound in Douma then the fact- finding mission will begin its work in Douma from Thursday,” Jaafari told the Security Council.

The Syrian state news agency earlier reported that the international team of experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons had entered Douma to begin their probe of whether chemical agents were used as a weapon. The ambassador stressed that the “Syrian government did all that it can do to facilitate the work of this mission” but that it was up to the UN and the OPCW to decide whether to deploy, based on security considerations. The inspectors arrived in Damascus on Saturday, when UK, France and the US launched military strikes against what they said were targets linked to Syria’s chemical weapons programme. The suspected April 7 gas attack on Douma, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on Syrian President Bashar alAssad’s regime.