Chemical arms watchdog to vote on Russia-Iran bid for new Syria probe

PanARMENIAN.Net - The governing body of the global chemical arms watchdog will Thursday, April 20 vote on a controversial Russian-Iranian move to set up a new team to probe a suspected chemical attack in Syria, sources told AFP.

The draft decision, seen by AFP, calls for an investigation by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "to establish whether chemical weapons were used in Khan Sheikhun and how they were delivered to the site of the reported incident" -- even though an official probe is already underway.

It also calls for investigators to visit the Shayrat airbase -- bombed by the United States after the April 4 attack -- to "verify allegations concerning the storage of chemical weapons" there.

The move comes as OPCW head Ahmet Uzumcu said Wednesday that "incontrovertible" test results by the OPCW team already probing the incident had shown sarin gas or a similar substance were used in the attack.

Samples from three people killed in the attack and seven survivors analysed at four OPCW-designated laboratories "indicate exposure to sarin or a sarin-like substance," said Uzumcu, according to AFP.

Western nations have accused the Syrian regime of carrying out the suspected air strike on the rebel-held town in Idlib province which killed at least 87 people, including many children.

But Moscow, the closest ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is leading efforts to sideline the OPCW's existing fact-finding mission by calling for a new "full-scale and thorough investigation".