OIC chief condemns reported use of chemical weapons in Syria

TEHRAN,April 16 (MNA) – Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria. Ihsanoglu has made the remarks during a recent meeting with Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the OIC Hamidreza Dehqani in Jeddah, Iranian news agencies reported on Monday. He also said that international organizations, including the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, should investigate the incident. The Syrian government had accused rebel forces of using chemical weapons against civilians in the village of Khan al-Assal in the northern province of Aleppo on March 19. Syrian media outlets reported that at least 25 people were killed and over 100 injured in the attack. In a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which was released on March 26, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the reported use of chemical weapons by rebels in Syria and called on the UN to take the measures necessary to prevent similar incidents. On April 8, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, speaking in The Hague, said that an advance team was ready to go to Syria to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons there. However, the Syrian government rejected the UN inspection mission, saying the UN wants “additional investigations which might allow the UN mission to spread all over the Syrian territories, and this contradicts the Syrian request from the UN and indicates to the presence of hidden intentions at the states which have sought to add those investigations as this constitutes a violation of the Syrian sovereignty.”