UNITED NATIONS
(AP) -- After months of negotiations, the United Nations announced
Wednesday that U.N. experts will depart imminently for Syria to
investigate alleged chemical weapons use.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave the green light after the Syrian government accepted arrangements for the investigation.
The
team is expected to visit three sites where chemical weapons attacks
allegedly occurred, but diplomats and chemical weapons experts have
raised doubts about whether they will find anything since the alleged
incidents took place months ago.
The mandate
for the investigation is also limited: The team will report on whether
chemical weapons were used, and if so which ones, but it will not
determine the responsibility for an attack. This has led some
commentators to question the value of the investigation.
President
Bashar Assad's government initially asked the U.N. to investigate an
alleged chemical weapons attack on March 19 on the village of Khan al
Assal outside the embattled city of Aleppo, which was captured by the
rebels last month. The government and rebels blame each other for the
purported attack which killed at least 30 people.
Britain,
France and the U.S. followed with allegations of chemical weapons use
in Homs, Damascus and elsewhere. U.N. Mideast envoy Robert Serry told
the Security Council last month that the U.N. has received 13 reports of
alleged chemical weapons use in Syria.
On
June 13, the United States said it had conclusive evidence that Assad's
regime had used chemical weapons against opposition forces. That crossed
what President Barack Obama had called a "red line" and prompted a U.S.
decision to send arms and ammunition to the opposition.
But
agreement on a U.N. investigation was delayed for months because Syria
wanted to limit the probe to Khan al-Assal and the secretary-general,
backed by the U.S., Britain and France, insisted on a broader
investigation.
The U.N. gave approval for the
probe on July 31 following an "understanding" reached with Syria during a
visit to Damascus by U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane and Swedish
expert Ake Sellstrom, the team's leader, that three sites where chemical
weapons were allegedly used would be investigated.
One site is Khan al Assal, but the locations of the other two incidents are being kept secret for safety reasons.
For the past two weeks, the Syrian government and the U.N. have been trying to agree on arrangements for the investigation.
The
U.N. team completed preparations for the visit over the weekend in The
Hague, Netherlands, but its departure was delayed because of differences
over details of the investigation.
Following
Wednesday's agreement, U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said "the
departure of the team is now imminent," but he provided no specific
date.
Under the agreement with Syria, the team
will remain in the country for "up to 14 days, extendable upon mutual
consent" to "conduct activities, "including on-site visits," del Buey
said.
He said U.N. Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon is pleased that agreement has been reached "to ensure the
proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission."
The
secretary-general believes an effective investigation of allegations
can serve as "an important deterrent" against the use of chemical
weapons, del Buey said.
"Our goal remains a fully independent and impartial inquiry," he said.
Del
Buey said "the overwhelming support of the international community for
this investigation makes clear that the use of chemical weapons by any
side under any circumstances would constitute an outrageous crime."
The
investigation team includes about 10 experts from the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is based in The Hague, and
the World Health Organization, based in Geneva.
Del
Buey said Ban expressed appreciation to the Syrian government for its
cooperation and to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons for its support of the mission.
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