Syrian forces bomb area of alleged chemical attack

BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian government forces pressed on with a military offensive in eastern Damascus on Thursday, bombing rebel-held suburbs where the opposition said the regime had killed over 100 people the day before in a chemical weapons attack.

The government has denied allegations it used chemical weapons in artillery barrages on the area known as eastern Ghouta on Wednesday as "absolutely baseless."

Bodies still being found after alleged Syria chemical attack: opposition

By Dasha Afanasieva

ISTANBUL |(Reuters) - Bodies are still being discovered after an alleged chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus that killed hundreds of people and the death toll will rise, a Syrian opposition spokesman said on Thursday.

The opposition accused government forces of gassing hundreds of people on Wednesday by firing rockets that released deadly fumes over rebel-held Damascus suburbs, killing men, women and children as they slept.

Syrian activists claim deadly 'toxic gas' attack

By BASSEM MROUE and ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) -- Syrian anti-government activists accused the regime of carrying out a toxic gas attack that killed at least 100 people, including many children, during intense artillery and rocket barrages Wednesday on the eastern suburbs of Damascus, part of a fierce government offensive in the area.

Syrians retrieve "sleeping" dead after alleged chemical attack

By Erika Solomon and Stephen Kalin

BEIRUT |Aug 21 (Reuters) - The men, women and children lying undisturbed in their beds had looked so peaceful they might have been just sleeping, Abu Nidal thought, as he and other rescuers dragged their bodies into the street.

Media source: Reports on chemical weapons use in Ghouta untrue

Damascus, (SANA)- A media source on Wednesday dismissed as untrue the news broadcast by some media outlets that chemical weapons have been used in the Ghouta region in Damascus Countryside.
The source stressed that the reports circulated by the TV channels of al-Jazeera, al-Arabiya, Sky News and other channels which are involved in the shedding of Syrian blood and supporting terrorism, are completely baseless, and that the aim behind broadcasting such reports is to distract the UN chemical weapons investigation committee from its mission.

Syria opposition says 1,300 killed in Damascus attacks, chemicals used

ISTANBUL | (Reuters) - A leading Syrian opposition figure said on Wednesday 1,300 people had been killed in attacks using chemical weapons by President Bashar al-Assad's forces around Damascus.

"Today's crimes are ... not the first time the regime has used chemical weapons," George Sabra told a news conference in Istanbul. "But they constitute a significant turning point in the regime's operations ... This time it was for annihilation rather than terror."

Activists say nearly 500 killed in gas attack near Damascus

 
By Dominic Evans and Khaled Yacoub Oweis

BEIRUT/AMMAN |(Reuters) - Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a gas attack that killed nearly 500 people on Wednesday, in what would, if confirmed, be by far the worst reported use of chemical arms in the two-year-old civil war.

An opposition monitoring group, citing figures compiled from medical clinics in the Damascus suburbs, put the death toll at 494 - 90 percent of them killed by gas, the rest by bombing and conventional arms.

Activists say more than 200 killed in gas attack near Damascus

By Dominic Evans and Khaled Yacoub Oweis

BEIRUT/AMMAN |(Reuters) - Syrian activists accused President Bashar al-Assad's forces of launching a nerve gas attack that killed at least 213 people on Wednesday, in what would, if confirmed, be by far the worst reported use of poison gas in the two-year-old civil war.

Reuters was not able to verify the accounts independently and they were denied by Syrian state television, which said they were disseminated deliberately to distract a team of United Nations chemical weapons experts which arrived three days ago.

UK to raise reported Syrian chemical weapons use at U.N.

LONDON |(Reuters) - Britain said on Wednesday it would raise a reported chemical weapons attack by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad at the United Nations Security Council and called on Damascus to give U.N. inspectors access to the site.

"I am deeply concerned by reports that hundreds of people, including children, have been killed in airstrikes and a chemical weapons attack on rebel-held areas near Damascus," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement.
Hague said reports of the attack, which has been denied outright by the Syrian government, remained uncorroborated and that Britain was urgently seeking more information.

U.N. chemical weapons inspectors to start work in Syria on Monday

DAMASCUS |(Reuters) - A team of U.N. chemical weapons experts have arrived in Damascus and will start work on Monday to investigate the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war.

UN chemical arms experts arrive in Syrian capital

By ALBERT AJI
Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) -- After months of drawn-out negotiations, United Nations experts arrived in Damascus on Sunday to begin their investigation into the purported use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war.

The rebels, along with the U.S. and other Western powers, have accused President Bashar Assad's regime of carrying out the alleged chemical attacks, while the Syrian government and Russia have blamed the opposition. Nearly six months after the weapons of mass destruction were first allegedly employed on the battlefield, definitive proof remains elusive.

U.N. chemical weapons team to visit Syria on Sunday

(Reuters) - A U.N. mission to investigate alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war tentatively plans to enter the country on Sunday, officials said on Friday.
The team, consisting of weapons experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, plans to look into claims of use of sarin gas and other toxic nerve agents.

UN chemical weapons team departing soon for Syria

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

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.

U.N. says still negotiating with Syria on chemical weapons inquiry

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS | (Reuters) - U.N. experts are ready to visit Syria to investigate claims of chemical weapons use during the country's two-year civil war, but a deal has not yet been reached with the Syrian government on safety assurances, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The devil is in the details and the details are being worked out," U.N. spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters.
It has been nearly two weeks since the United Nations said the Syrian government had agreed to let the U.N. team of experts travel to three sites where chemical weapons are reported to have been used. One, Khan al-Assal in Aleppo, is where the Syrian government says rebels used chemical weapons in March.
The other two locations to be visited have not yet been identified. The United Nations said it has received 13 reports of possible chemical weapons use - one from Syria's government and the rest mainly from Britain, France and the United States.
The Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of using chemical weapons, and both have denied it.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom in March to lead a U.N. inquiry into the claims, but diplomatic wrangling and concerns over safety have prevented Sellstrom and his team of experts from entering Syria.
The U.N. inquiry will only try to establish whether chemical weapons were used, not who used them. Sellstrom's team is made up of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization.
"Over the weekend, the investigation team ... completed all necessary logistical arrangements for its visit to Syria," the United Nations said in a statement on Tuesday.
But U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane, was still negotiating with the Syrian government on "the modalities essential for cooperation to ensure the proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission," the world body said.
"Once the government of Syria confirms its acceptance of the modalities, the mission will depart without delay," the United Nations said.
Rebels seized Khan al-Assal from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces last month. The opposition Syrian National Coalition has written to Ban saying they were ready to cooperate with the chemical weapons inquiry and "welcome U.N. investigators into all territories under our control."
The United Nations has been demanding unfettered access in Syria to conduct the chemical weapons investigation.
Syria is one of seven countries that has not joined the 1997 convention banning chemical weapons. Western countries believe it has stockpiles of undeclared mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve agents.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict.
More than 1.9 million Syrians have fled the country - two-thirds of those since the start of the year - and more than 4.2 million people have been internally displaced, the United Nations has said. Most of those in need are women and children.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Jackie Frank and Cynthia Osterman)

Departure of UN chemical experts to Syria delayed

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- U.N. chemical weapons experts have delayed a trip to Syria because the United Nations and the Syrian government haven't agreed on arrangements for the investigation of alleged chemical weapons use, a spokesman for the world body said Tuesday.

U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane was continuing consultations with the Syrian government "with a view to reaching agreement as soon as possible on the modalities essential for cooperation to ensure the proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission," U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said.

Del Buey refused to say what specific issues were holding up the team's departure.

"Obviously the devil is in the details, and the details are being worked out," he said.

The expert team, led by Ake Sellstrom of Sweden, completed preparations for the visit over the weekend, del Buey said.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky had said on Aug. 6 that preparations were expected to be completed "within the next days, following which the date of the mission in Syria will be announced."

Del Buey said that "once the government of Syria confirms its acceptance of the modalities, the mission will depart without delay."

The U.N. gave approval for the probe on July 31 following an "understanding" reached during meetings in Damascus between the Syrian government and the U.N., represented by Kane and Sellstrom, that three sites where chemical weapons were allegedly used would be investigated.

The team is expected to visit Khan al Assal, a village on the southwestern outskirts of the embattled city of Aleppo which was captured by the rebels in late July. The government and rebels blame each other for a purported chemical attack on the village on March 19 that killed at least 30 people.

The experts are expected to investigate two other incidents whose locations are being kept secret for safety and security reasons.

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.

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. Its mandate is to report on whether chemical weapons were used, and if so which ones, but not to determine the responsibility for an attack.

President Bashar Assad's government initially asked the U.N. to investigate the Khan al Assal incident. Britain, France and the U.S. followed with allegations of chemical weapons use in Homs, Damascus and elsewhere.

The July 31 announcement of an investigation ended more than four months of behind-the-scenes talks, with Syria trying to limit the probe to Khan al-Assal and the U.S., Britain and France pressing for a broader investigation.

U.N. finalizing Syria visit by chemical weapons experts

UNITED NATIONS
(Reuters) - The United Nations said on Tuesday it is finalizing the legal and logistical details of a mission by U.N. inspectors to Syria to investigate claims of chemical weapons attacks.
"It is anticipated that these preparations will be completed within the next days, following which the date of the mission in Syria will be announced," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said in a statement.
The United Nations said last week the Syrian government had agreed to let a team of experts travel to three sites where chemical weapons are reported to have been used. One, Khan al-Assal in Aleppo, is where the Syrian government says rebels used chemical weapons in March.
Rebels seized Khan al-Assal from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces last month. The Syrian National Coalition, the rebels' leadership group, wrote to Ban last week to reiterate that they were ready to cooperate with the chemical weapons inquiry and "welcome U.N. investigators into all territories under our control."
The other two locations to be visited have not yet been identified. The United Nations said it has received 13 reports of possible chemical weapons use - one from Syria's government and the rest mainly from Britain, France and the United States.
The Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of using chemical weapons, and both have denied it.
The U.N. inquiry, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, will only try to establish whether chemical weapons were used, not who used them. His team is made up of experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization.
The U.N. statement said the team has "reassembled in The Hague, where they are now completing their preparations prior to their departure to Syria."
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Philip Barbara)

U.N. says chemical weapons inspectors to visit three Syrian sites

 

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS | Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:03pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.N. inspectors will travel to Syria "as soon as possible" to investigate claims of chemical weapons use during the country's civil war after President Bashar al-Assad's government granted access to three sites, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
The head of a U.N. chemical weapons investigation team, Ake Sellstrom, and the head of the U.N. Office of Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane, visited Damascus last week at the invitation of the Syrian government to discuss access and obtained an understanding that it would be granted.
"The mission will travel to Syria as soon as possible to contemporaneously investigate three of the reported incidents, including Khan al-Assal," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's press office said in a statement.
The Syrian government, backed by its ally Russia, accused rebels of using chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province in March. The United Nations did not identify the other two locations to be visited by investigators.
Ban appointed Sellstrom at the end of March to investigate the Khan al-Assal complaint, as well as claims by Britain and France of chemical weapons use elsewhere in Syria, where a two-year revolt has descended into civil war.
But diplomatic wrangling and concerns over safety have prevented Sellstrom and his team of experts from entering Syria. The United Nations has been demanding unfettered access to conduct the chemical weapons investigation.
The United Nations says it now has 13 reports, mostly from Britain, France and the United States, of chemical weapons attacks. The Syrian government and the opposition both deny using such weapons. The U.N. inquiry will only try to establish if chemical weapons were used, not who used them.
"The Secretary-General remains mindful of other reported incidents and the mission will also continue to seek clarification from the member states concerned," the U.N. statement said.
CHEMICAL STOCKPILES
The United States concluded last month that Assad's forces used chemical weapons against rebel fighters. President Barack Obama said last year that any attempt to deploy or use chemical or biological weapons in Syria would cross a "red line."
U.S. congressional panels this month agreed to a White House plan to provide arms to the Syrian rebels.
Syria is one of seven countries that has not joined the 1997 convention banning chemical weapons. Western countries believe it has stockpiles of undeclared mustard gas, sarin and VX nerve agents.
Earlier this month, Russia's U.N. envoy Vitaly Churkin sharply criticized what he described as Western nations' "small propaganda storm in a glass of water" over allegations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons.
Damascus had been refusing to let U.N. investigators go anywhere except Khan al-Assal. Ban had insisted that Sellstrom's team be permitted to visit at least one other location, the city of Homs, site of an alleged chemical attack by government forces in December 2012.
Rebels seized Khan al-Assal from Assad's forces last week. Syrian state media accused insurgents on Saturday of killing 123 people, the majority of them civilians, during the offensive.
A senior Western envoy said that Syrian opposition leaders, who met informally with the U.N. Security Council on Friday, had pledged to grant to chemical weapons experts access to areas they controlled.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict.
Nearly 1.8 million Syrians have fled the country - two-thirds of those since the start of the year - and more than 4.2 million people have been internally displaced, the United Nations has said. Most of those in need are women and children.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Vicki Allen, Eric Beech and Philip Barbara)

Syria says talks with U.N. chemical arms investigator were 'fruitful'

 
BEIRUT | Sat Jul 27, 2013 7:50am EDT

(Reuters) - Syria said on Saturday it had held "fruitful" talks with a United Nations chemical arms investigator, but did not say if his team would be allowed to probe allegations that such weapons were used in its civil war.
Ake Sellstrom's full team has not been allowed into Syria due to diplomatic wrangling over access. His mission this week was to prepare the ground for an investigation.
Syrian state news agency SANA said Sellstrom had met with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem. It quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying the discussions were "comprehensive and fruitful and led to an agreement on the means of moving forward."
It did not say if the agreement included access for Sellstrom's team.
Damascus has so far refused to let U.N. investigators go anywhere except Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, where Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and its Russian ally say rebels used chemical weapons in March.
The United States said last month it had proof that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against fighters trying to overthrow Assad.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has insisted that his team be permitted to visit at least one other location, the city of Homs, site of an alleged chemical attack by government forces in December 2012.
Both sides deny using chemical weapons in a war which the U.N. says has killed 100,000 people.
(Reporting by Oliver Holmes; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Syria says agreement reached on UN chemical probe

By BARBARA SURK
Associated Press
Jul 27, 7:50 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) -- Talks between the Syrian government and a U.N. delegation tasked with investigating chemical weapons allegations in the nation's civil war have "resulted in an agreement on ways of moving forward," Syrian state media said Saturday.

President Bashar Assad's government invited a U.N. team to visit Damascus earlier this month after requesting that the international organization investigate an alleged chemical attack in Khan al-Assal, a village in the north. The Syrian regime and the rebels fighting to topple it accuse each other of using chemical agents in the March 19 incident.

Assad's government refused to have a possible inquiry include other alleged chemical attack sites in the central city of Homs, Damascus and elsewhere.

Earlier this week Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom and U.N. disarmament chief Angela Kane met with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and his deputy, Faisal Mekdad, in the Syrian capital.

A joint statement by the foreign ministry and the U.N. that appeared on Syria's official SANA news agency's website on Saturday said the meetings were "comprehensive and fruitful and resulted in an agreement on ways of moving forward."

It did not elaborate. The U.N. team couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Khan al-Assal, on the southwestern edge of the embattled city of Aleppo, was under government control in March. It was captured by the rebels on Monday after weeks of heavy fighting between government troops and opposition forces who took large swathes of territory in the north - including parts of Aleppo - in an offensive last summer.

Saturday's announcement on an agreement on a possible U.N. probe of the March attack that killed 31 people in Khan al-Assal coincided with government allegations that the rebels committed "a massacre" in the village, killing "a number of civilians and military personnel," according to a SANA report. It did not give a death toll. The report said "terrorists" were behind the recent killings in Khan al-Assal, a term the government uses for rebels.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 150 soldiers were killed on Monday and Tuesday, some after they had surrendered, during and after the rebel storming of Khan al-Assal.

The group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground inside Syria said at least 51 of the soldiers were shot dead after they were captured or had surrendered to rebels, the Observatory said Saturday. It said around 100 were killed when they tried to hold on to positions inside and around the village.

The Observatory's report could not be independently confirmed. Syria's official media does not release casualty figures for security forces and government soldiers.

In Aleppo, a rocket fired by government forces into a rebel-held district killed at least 18 people, including six children and four women, The Observatory said Saturday. The attack occurred a day earlier during government shelling of al-Qaida-linked rebel fighters in the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo. One of the rockets slammed into a residential area about 50 meters (yards) away from positions held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Observatory said. At least another 50 people were wounded.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in the 2-year-old conflict, according to the U.N.'s recent estimate.

----

Associated Press writer Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.

Two UN envoys on a mission to inspects to probe alleged chemical weapons attacks ended.

Two UN envoys on a mission to persuade Syria's government to allow inspectors to probe alleged chemical weapons attacks ended a 24-hour visit Thursday, the United Nations said in Damascus.
Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom and Angela Kane, the UN high representative for disarmament, "have left Damascus after an official two-day visit, during which the experts met with Syrian officials" including Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, said UN media and communications analyst Khaled Al Masri.
The Damascus-based UN official gave no details on the discussions.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in New York: "I will get the report, since they are coming out of Syria now; we will get the report soon."
According to a source close to the Syrian government, the authorities reiterated their demand that the UN focus on investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal, near the northern city of Aleppo.
President Bashar al-Assad's regime has insisted that the rebels were responsible for the alleged chemical attack there in March.
Khan al-Assal fell from regime control and into rebel hands on Monday, complicating any effort to send in inspectors to visit the site.
The United Nations says Damascus has refused bids to investigate British and French claims that chemical attacks have also hit Homs in central Syria.
In all, the United Nations has received 13 allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Syria's regime and rebels fighting to topple it have accused each other of using chemical weapons in the drawn-out conflict which has seen more than 100,000 people killed.
[AFP]