UN DELEGATION POSTPONES GHOUTA INVESTIGATION

    Damascus, 21 Shawwal 1434/27 Agustus 2013 (MINA) – Syria Local Coordination Committee (LCC) said Tuesday that the UN team in Syria postponed its investigation in eastern Ghouta to Wednesday.

    The team had been on the ground for three days to probe earlier allegations when an apparent chemical attack in the Ghouta region near the capital Damascus killed at least 1,300 people.

    During investigation, vehicle of the UN chemical weapons investigation team in Syria was shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

UN teams targeted, vehicle shot by snipers

   Previous, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instructed the UN UnderSecretary General & High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, who is now in Damascus to oversee the UN investigation on claims over use of chemical weapons, to warn the Syrian government and opposition forces over the safety and security of the investigation teams.

     Via the office of his spokesperson, Ban said Prof. Sellstrom and his team carried out the first day of investigation and he was told that their vehicle was attacked by an unknown sniper.

    “Despite such very difficult circumstances, our team returned to Damascus and replaced their car and proceeded to a suburb of Damascus to carry on their investigation,” Ban said.

     Ban stated that the teams visited two hospitals, interviewing witnesses, survivors and doctors, and also collecting some samples.

    Speaking to the correspondents, Acting Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq said the first vehicle of the UN chemical weapons investigation team was deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area. 

     “As the car was no longer serviceable, the team returned safely back to the government check-point and will return to the area after replacing the vehicle,” he added.

     Haq also noted that the team would continue its investigation work on Tuesday, stressing that they would not give any further details on the place of work and samples taken by the team from the area. (T/P09/P04).

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)