UN chemical weapons experts arrive in Damascus

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two senior UN inspectors tasked with investigating claims that chemical weapons have been used in Syria's civil war were in Damascus on Wednesday for talks with government officials.

The long-awaited visit came as opposition sources said that Saudi Arabia had stepped up its weapons deliveries to rebels for a major offensive in Aleppo province, including on government-held areas of the northern metropolis.

Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom and Angela Kane, the UN high representative for disarmament, arrived from Beirut for the talks, which the United Nations has been pushing for since April.

They were likely to meet Foreign Minister Walid Muallem later in the day, a source close to the UN delegation told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Top of the agenda will be access to areas of the country where chemical weapons are alleged to have been used so that they can pursue their investigations.

On June 11, the United Nations accepted an invitation from the Syrian government for the visit by the two officials.

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 United Nations said was a blow to the mission's hopes of gaining access.

"If the government does not control Khan al-Assal then there is little chance they will let UN experts in," said one UN Security Council diplomat.

The United Nations has received 13 allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.