Inspectors waiting for green light
OPCW mission needs UN security team’s okay before entering Douma
Damascus: International investigators are awaiting the green light from a UN security team to begin work in a Syrian town hit by an alleged chemical attack, after delays and warnings by Western powers that crucial evidence had likely been removed.
The suspected April 7 gas attack on Douma, near Damascus, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In response, the United States, France and Britain conducted missile strikes on Syrian military installations, but Paris admitted on Tuesday they were a matter of “honour” that had solved nothing.
Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told a meeting of the UN Security Council that the team of experts would begin work yesterday once they receive the all-clear from the security detail.
“If this United Nations security team decides that the situation is sound in Douma then the fact-finding mission will begin its work in Douma,” Jaafari told the council in New York.
The Syrian state news agency SANA earlier reported that the international experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had entered Douma to begin their investigation of whether chemical agents were used as a weapon.
Jaafari 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 United Nations and the OPCW to decide whether to deploy, based
If the Russians and Syrians have nothing to hide, it’s strange that they would wait 36 to 72 hours. Olivier Lepick
on security considerations.
The inspectors arrived in Damascus on the day of the Western strikes but had not been allowed to enter Douma.
France and the United States appeared to question the purpose of such a mission.
“It is highly likely that evidence and essential elements disappear from the site, which is completely controlled by the Russian and Syrian armies,” the French foreign ministry said.
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova hit back, calling the accusation “very surprising” and saying that Russia had supported the inspection.
Several experts have said any investigation at this stage was likely to be inconclusive.
“As with any crime scene, it is crucial to get there as soon as possible,” said Olivier Lepick, a fellow at the Paris-based Foundation for Scientific Research.
“If the Russians and Syrians have nothing to hide, it’s strange that they would wait 36 to 72 hours,” he said. “It’s probably to give themselves the time to finish cleaning up.”