Syria Envoy: UK-France Barring UN Investigation On Use Of Chemical Weapons By Armed Groups

New York, April 29, IRNA – Syrian permanent representative to the United Nations Bashar Al-Jafari said the UK and France are barring the UN investigations on use of chemical weapons by armed groups against citizens in Aleppo. In an exclusive interview with IRNA here, he dismissed the West propaganda ballyhoo on use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, stressing that the UK and France are pressing the UN secretary general to stop dispatching of a fact-finding team to Syria to investigate use of chemical weapons by armed groups. He noted that the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has already corresponded with the Secretary General Ban ki-moon on the framework of the mission of the international investigation team but received no official answers yet. On the content of the letter, the Syrian envoy said that it urged the UN chief to clearly explain what methods and instruments the fact-finding team is going to manipulate in its investigations in the town of Khan al-Assal near the city of Aleppo. Following the last month report on use of chemical weapons in Syrian province of Aleppo, Damascus officially demanded the UN to take action and dispatch an investigation team to the country. The UN chief decided to sent an experts team to Syria to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Aleppo but later on, under the UK and France pressures, it was decided that other investigation groups should be sent to other parts of the country to gather reports on use of chemical weapons there too. The Syrian government says it could not afford giving unlimited permissions to all these groups in all parts of Syria and that they have to coordinate with the government in all cases. Damascus has asked the UN to dispatch its investigation group to Aleppo in no time. It says will make decisions for other investigation groups independently./end