Chemical Weapons Watchdog in Syria to Begin Probe on Wednesday

EghtesadOnline: International investigators will head on Wednesday to the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria that provoked a U.S.-led missile strike.

News ID: ۷۴۵۱۷۷

17 April 2018

A United Nations security team will inspect the route to Douma, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, before the fact-finding mission from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons goes there, Tass reported, citing Russian General Igor Kirillov.

According to Bloomberg, the OPCW said Tuesday that Russia and Syria had blocked the inspectors’ access to Douma, a former opposition stronghold, citing security issues. They arrived in Damascus on Saturday.

The U.S., U.K. and France accuse President Bashar Al-Assad of carrying out the April 7 attack, which killed dozens of people. The allies struck Syrian military targets over the weekend in retaliation. Both Syria and its main backer, Russia, deny the Syrian government used chemical weapons.

The U.S. said it was considering imposing new sanctions on Russia and a decision would be taken in the near future. But a Washington Post report said President Donald Trump abandoned that idea following the missile strike, and was unlikely to approve additional penalties without a new provocation.