PROBE INTO ALLEGED CHEMICAL GAS ATTACK IN SYRIA
Inspectors' visit delayed
UN team came under fire in Douma ahead OPCW visit
♦ Regime forces shell IS bastion in Damascus
♦ Saudi renews offer to deploy troops to Syria
A UN security team was fired at on Tuesday while on a reconnaissance mission in the Syrian town of Douma to prepare the deployment of experts investigating an alleged chemical attack, officials said yesterday.
"Shots were fired yesterday [Tuesday] at a UN security team doing a reconnaissance in Douma," a UN official told AFP. "They were not injured and returned to Damascus."
The experts from the OPCW chemical watchdog were awaiting the green light from the security team before beginning their on-site investigation in Douma of the alleged attack.
The suspected April 7 gas attack on Douma, near Damascus, reportedly left more than 40 people dead and was blamed by Western powers on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
British Ambassador Peter Wilson told reporters in The Hague that the security team on Tuesday travelled to two sites in Douma, escorted by Russian security police.
The officials were greeted by a "large crowd" of protesters at one site, forcing them to withdraw while at the second site "they were subject to small-arms fire and an explosion," Wilson said, citing information from the OPCW director general.
Ahmet Uzumcu, the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told ambassadors in The Hague that it was unclear when the fact-finding mission will be able to deploy to Douma, Wilson added.
Meanwhile, Syrian regime forces shelled the last pockets in Damascus controlled by the Islamic State group, preparing the ground for a possible assault on the jihadist stronghold, a monitor said yesterday.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reaffirmed on Tuesday the kingdom's willingness to deploy troops to Syria.
"We are in discussions with the US and have been since the beginning of the Syrian crisis (in 2011) about sending forces into Syria," Jubeir said at a press conference in Riyadh with UN chief Antonio Guterres.