United Nations inspectors have been granted access to the site of an alleged chemical-weapons attack near Damascus, Syrian state TV has said, with the UN announcing that the Syrian government has also agreed to observe a ceasefire during the visit.
It followed an agreement between the Syrian foreign minister and the head of the UN delegation of chemical experts to the country on Sunday.
The agreement “is effective immediately and it will allow UN delegation to investigate allegations of using chemical weapons on August 22 in Damascus suburbs”, the state TV reported.
The alleged chemical-weapons attack in Ghouta on Wednesday killed 355 people, according to the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres.
A team of UN inspectors arrived in the Syrian capital last week to investigate claims of chemical weapons use by opposition fighters and the Syrian government, which UN officials originally said would last two weeks and cover three sites.
A UN statement said on Sunday that the inspectors were preparing to conduct “on-site fact-finding activities starting tomorrow, Monday, 26 August”.
It also said that Damascus had agreed to a ceasefire while the UN experts are at the site for inspections, a statement confirmed by the Syrian government.
The international organisation added that the rebels and government were responsible for the safety of the UN inspectors on the ground since a local ceasefire had been agreed.
aljazeera
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