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OPCW
to send chemical weapons investigators to Syria’s Douma –
statement
RT,
10
April, 2018
The
international chemical weapons watchdog will send a fact-finding
mission to Douma, Syria, to investigate the reports of an attack
there. The move follows calls from Moscow and Damascus to launch an
international investigation.
“Today,
the OPCW Technical Secretariat has requested the Syrian Arab Republic
to make the necessary arrangements for such a deployment. This has
coincided with a request from the Syrian Arab Republic and the
Russian Federation to investigate the allegations of chemical weapons
use in Douma. The team is preparing to deploy to Syria shortly,”
the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said
in a statement on Tuesday.
Since
2014, the OPCW has an ongoing mandate to investigate suspected
chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The mission is designed “to
establish facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic
chemicals... for hostile purposes in the Syrian Arab Republic.” The
scope of the fact-finding mission is to determine whether banned
substances were used, but not to assign blame.
The
incident allegedly occurred in the Damascus suburb of Douma on
Saturday. It was reported by several rebel-linked activist groups,
including the controversial White Helmets, who accused the Syrian
troops of dropping chlorine-filled munitions on the area. They also
claimed it affected dozens of civilians, and footage of children
being allegedly treated for poisoning has appeared online.
Damascus
has called the alleged attack a “fabrication.” Russian military
specialists have explored the area as Jaysh al-Islam militants
occupying Douma began to evacuate from the city as part of a
Russian-brokered deal with Damascus. Moscow said the specialists had
found no traces of chemical weapons or any victims treated for
chemical poisoning.
The
OPCW’s announcement came shortly before an expected UN Security
Council meeting on the alleged Douma incident. Both Russia and the US
are expected to roll out draft resolutions calling for an
international investigation into the purported attack. On Monday, the
UN said it was unable to “independently verify the allegations”
regarding Douma.
“We're
not in a position at this point to independently verify the
allegations but, obviously, any allegation of continued use of
chemical weapons is extremely, extremely troubling,” Stephane
Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said.
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