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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
| Chemical weapons team ready for Syria | ||
| 2013-04-09 | ||
| THE HAGUE — A UN inspection team is in Cyprus and ready to deploy to nearby Syria to probe the alleged use of chemical weapons in the conflict there, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday. “I can announce today that an advance team is now in Cyprus, the final staging point” before the mission heads to Syria, Ban said in The Hague. “We are ready.”
“The UN is now in the position to deploy in Syria — in less than 24 hours all logistical arrangements will be in place,” Ban said after President Bashar Al Assad called on the UN to probe allegations rebels had used chemical weapons. “All we are waiting for is the go-ahead of the Syrian government to determine if any chemical weapons have been deployed,” Ban said. “We are still in the process of discussing it with the Syrian government.”
Britain and France have demanded that the enquiry also take up opposition claims that the government staged that attack and two other allegations that the government used chemical weapons. “My position is clear — all claims will be examined without delays, without conditions and without exception,” Ban said, adding that a list of 15 chemical experts of the OPCW had been provided and that the bulk of the team would come from the OPCW. Ban said that the advance team in Cyprus “is very small” and that time was of the essence. “The longer it takes the harder it will be,” to investigate the claims, he said. OPCW head Ahmet Uzumcu said the security situation in war-wracked Syria would be an issue for the inspectors. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |