Syria chemical weapons inspections 'to begin next week'
Last edited Fri Sep 27, 2013, 10:49 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: BBC News
Experts from the world's chemical weapons watchdog will begin inspecting Syria's stockpile by Tuesday, a draft agreement says.
The draft also unusually authorities the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate sites not declared by Damascus.
The text is due to be voted on at a meeting in The Hague later on Friday.
It will then be incorporated into a UN Security Council resolution calling on Syria to give up its chemical weapons.
The resolution will condemn the use of chemical weapons in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus last month which killed hundreds of people, but will not attribute blame.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24297892
Guardian live / Associated Press - see 11.36am BST.
The draft decision authorises the body to inspect "any other site identified by a State Party as having been involved in the Syrian chemical weapons program, unless deemed unwarranted by the Director-General."
That goes beyond usual practice as the organization has only previously inspected sites that have been declared by member states.
The draft, being discussed by the OPCW's executive council Friday night, calls for the organization's secretariat to, "as soon as possible and no later than 1 October 2013, initiate inspections in the Syrian Arab Republic." And it lays out the target of destroying all of Syria's chemical weapons and equipment by "the first half of 2014."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/27/syria-crisis-un-p5-agree-draft-resolution-live
= new reply since forum marked as read
One team (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) is going in to inspect the chemical weapons stockpile next week, and another one (the UN team lead by Ake Sellstrom) that is already there are currently investigating the alleged use of them.
There is something weird going on. If you google the AP headline I used then links to go to other media sources using that headline but when opened cross refer to an AP car bombing post which I guess is what you saw. I think AP have screwed up somewhere reusing a link number - example here http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24188329/un-chemical-inspectors-probe-7-sites-syria . I've deleted it.
