Chemical weapons used in Syria, UN human rights investigators say

PanARMENIAN.Net - United Nations human rights investigators said on Tuesday, June 4 they had "reasonable grounds" to believe that limited amounts of chemical weapons had been used in Syria and warned that the shattered country was in "free-fall," Reuters reported.

In their latest report, they said they had received allegations that Syrian government forces and rebels had used the banned weapons, but most testimony related to their use by state forces.

The UN commission said it examined four reported toxic attacks in March and April but could not determine which side was behind them.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe that limited quantities of toxic chemicals were used. It has not been possible, on the evidence available, to determine the precise chemical agents used, their delivery systems or the perpetrator," Paulo Pinheiro, who chairs the UN commission of inquiry, told a news conference in Geneva.

"The witnesses that we have interviewed include victims, refugees who fled some areas, and medical staff," Pinheiro said, declining to be more specific for reasons of confidentiality.

President Bashar al-Assad's government and its opponents have accused each other of using chemical weapons.

A UN team of inspectors has so far been denied access to Syria and has been unable to establish whether chemical weapons have been used.

The UN rights team of more than 20 investigators conducted 430 interviews from January 15 to May 15 among refugees in neighboring countries and by Skype with people still in Syria.

But findings remained inconclusive and it was vital that a separate team of experts be given full access to Syria to collect samples from victims and sites of alleged attacks, the rights investigators said.