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Suspected Chlorine Attacks in Syria to Be Investigated Suspected Chlorine Attacks in Syria to Be Investigated
(about 7 hours later)
GENEVA — A group that monitors compliance with the treaty banning chemical weapons said on Tuesday that it was sending a mission to Syria to “establish the facts” surrounding allegations that antagonists in the civil war have used chlorine gas bombs.GENEVA — A group that monitors compliance with the treaty banning chemical weapons said on Tuesday that it was sending a mission to Syria to “establish the facts” surrounding allegations that antagonists in the civil war have used chlorine gas bombs.
Ahmet Uzumcu, the head of the group, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, announced the mission at a meeting of its executive council, according to a statement released from its headquarters in The Hague. The statement said the mission had received full support from the group’s council members and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Ahmet Uzumcu, the head of the group, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, announced the mission at a meeting of its executive council, according to a statement released from its headquarters in The Hague.
It was unclear from the statement precisely when the investigation would start, but it said that Syria had “agreed to accept this mission” and would provide security in areas under government control. Syria had “agreed to accept this mission” and would provide security in areas under government control, the statement said, adding that the mission had the full support of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
A European diplomat who attended the meeting said in a telephone interview that Mr. Uzumcu had expressed hope the mission would leave for Syria later this week. The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was closed to the press, said all delegates welcomed the plans.
Members of the United Nations Security Council called for an investigation into the attacks last week after a briefing from Sigrid Kaag, the head of the joint effort by the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog to oversee the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons program.Members of the United Nations Security Council called for an investigation into the attacks last week after a briefing from Sigrid Kaag, the head of the joint effort by the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog to oversee the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons program.
The United States and France have said they are taking seriously allegations that Syrian government forces dropped bombs filled with chlorine in an attack earlier this month on the village of Kafr Zita in central Hama province.The United States and France have said they are taking seriously allegations that Syrian government forces dropped bombs filled with chlorine in an attack earlier this month on the village of Kafr Zita in central Hama province.
The Syrian government has denied responsibility and has accused the Nusra Front, a jihadi insurgent group, of carrying out the attack.The Syrian government has denied responsibility and has accused the Nusra Front, a jihadi insurgent group, of carrying out the attack.
Chlorine is a common industrial chemical that is not on the list of items prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty that Syria signed last year as part of its promise to renounce chemical weapons. But the treaty bans the use of any chemicals as military weapons.Chlorine is a common industrial chemical that is not on the list of items prohibited by the Chemical Weapons Convention, the treaty that Syria signed last year as part of its promise to renounce chemical weapons. But the treaty bans the use of any chemicals as military weapons.
The chemical weapons monitor meeting at The Hague was also scheduled to review Syria’s progress in exporting the chemical compounds in its arsenal, which originally totaled about 1,200 tons, for destruction. The Security Council has said the arsenal must be destroyed by June 30. As of last week, the chemical weapons monitor reported, about 7.5 percent of the chemicals remained in the country. The monitor group’s meeting on Tuesday also was punctuated by sharp criticism from Western governments over what they regard as Syrian government stalling over the export of the remainder of its chemical weapons cache.
Syria has missed successive deadlines for completing the process, the latest of them on Sunday, when international experts overseeing the program said roughly 7.5 percent of the stockpile, or about 100 tons, remained at one site.
Robert P. Mikulak, the American ambassador to the monitor group, was especially critical of the missed deadlines, according to his statement to the meeting, which was posted on the State Department’s website
“I think all of us expected to be at a very different stage of the effort than we are today,” he said. The government of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, he said, had “delayed the operation at every opportunity.”
No destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons can begin until Syria delivers the last consignments of chemicals to Norwegian and Danish vessels now waiting in the Mediterranean to take delivery.
Under a Security Council resolution passed last September, the entire arsenal must be destroyed by June 30.