The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:47 PM
UN Chemical Watchdog Group Says It Was Fired On At Syrian Chemical Plant While Trying To Inspect It Near Douma
5:55 p.m.
The chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog says it remains unclear when a team of its experts can visit the Syrian town of Douma to investigate an alleged deadly chemical weapon attack.
Independent experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons arrived in Damascus on Saturday to carry out a fact-finding mission. They are still waiting to visit nearby Douma, 11 days after the alleged attack took place.
OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu told a meeting of the organization's Executive Council on Wednesday that the team will not visit Douma until United Nations security experts, who came under fire in the town on Tuesday, deem it safe and only if the team "can have unhindered access to the sites."
Uzumcu says the incident Tuesday, "again highlights the highly volatile environment in which the FFM (Fact-Finding Mission) is having to work and the security risks our staff are facing."
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4:45 p.m.
A United Nations official says a U.N. team on a security mission to the site of a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria was fired upon and had to return to its base in Damascus.
The official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the shooting occurred during a site visit to Douma on Tuesday, ahead of an expected visit to the area by a team of chemical weapons experts who have been delayed for days.
Independent experts from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons are still waiting to visit the town, 11 days after the alleged attack took place. They arrived in Damascus on a fact-finding mission on Saturday.
OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu told a closed-door meeting of his organization that it remains unclear when the team will be able to deploy to Douma, U.K. Ambassador Peter Wilson told reporters in The Hague.
Uzumcu said on Monday that the Syrian government and its ally Russia were blocking his team from visiting Douma.
Russia and the Syrian government deny responsibility for the alleged attack.
__ Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations