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Syria says chemical inspectors have entered Douma amid concerns for probe
[IsraelTimes] Search for evidence of regime attack follows days of delay, and comes amidst warnings by Western powers that crucial material has likely been removedSyria on Tuesday said international Sherlocks had entered a town hit by an alleged chemical attack, after days of delay and warnings by Western powers that crucial evidence had likely been removed. The suspected gas attack on April 7 on Douma, near Damascus, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on the regime of Syrian  Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Light of the Alawites... In response, the United States, La Belle France, and Britannia conducted unprecedented missile strikes on Syrian military installations, but Gay Paree admitted on Tuesday they were a matter of "honor" that had solved nothing. "Experts from the chemical weapons committee enter the town of Douma," state news agency SANA wrote, referring to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The inspectors arrived in Damascus on the day of the Western strikes but had not been allowed to enter Douma. La Belle France and the United States appeared to question the purpose of such a mission, warning that any incriminating evidence had likely been removed by now. "It is highly likely that evidence and essential elements disappeared from the site, which is completely controlled by the Russian and Syrian armies," the French foreign ministry said. The US ambassador to the OPCW, Ken Ward, had claimed Monday that the site "may have been tampered with." Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova hit back at La Belle France, calling the accusation "very surprising" and saying that Russia had supported the inspection. Several experts have also said however that any investigation at this stage was likely to be inconclusive. "As with any scene of the crime, it is crucial to get there as soon as possible," said Olivier Lepick, a fellow at the Gay Paree-based Foundation for Scientific Research. "If the Russians and Syrians have nothing to hide, it’s strange that they would wait 36 to 72 hours," he said. "It’s probably to give themselves the time to finish cleaning up."
[DW] Syria's state news agency had reported that experts from the OPCW had already entered the site of an alleged chemical attack. But Syria's UN ambassador said only a UN security team has so far entered the besieged town.
Posted by: trailing wife 2018-04-18 |
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