Khaled al-Masry (left), the UN media and communication analyst in Syria, shakes hands with Ake Sellstrom, head of a fact-finding mission investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, upon his arrival in the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus yesterday.
AFP/Damascus
Two UN envoys were in Damascus yesterday on a mission to persuade the Syrian government to let in inspectors to investigate alleged chemical attacks during the 28-month conflict.
The Syrian regime and rebels fighting to topple it have accused each other of using chemical weapons in the drawn-out conflict which has seen more than 100,000 people killed.
Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom and Angela Kane, the UN high representative for disarmament, arrived from Beirut for the talks, which the UN has been pushing for since April.
They were likely to meet Foreign Minister Walid Muallem later, a source close to the UN delegation said on condition of anonymity.
Their visit came as opposition leader Ahmed Jarba met French President Francois Hollande in Paris as part of efforts to secure Western as well as Gulf Arab weapons.
The UN accepted an invitation from the Syrian government for the visit by the two envoys on July 11, with the limited brief of “completing the consultations on the modalities” of an inspection mission.
The US has accused forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad of making limited use of its chemical weapons stockpiles during the conflict, a finding backed by other Western governments.
Long-standing Assad ally Russia has accused the rebels of using chemical weapons.
Damascus has insisted any investigation should focus on the use of chemical weapons in the northern town of Khan al-Assal in March, which it and Russia blamed on the rebels.
The town was captured by the rebels on Monday, in what diplomats at the UN said was a blow to the mission’s hopes of gaining access.