A woman and a child are treated in an Aleppo hospital following the terrorist chemical weapons attack on March 19, 2013.
The United Nations will launch an independent investigation into the recent use of chemical weapons in the Syria unrest, which would be “a crime against humanity.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the decision on Thursday a day after the Syrian government called for an independent inquiry into the terrorist chemical attack in Aleppo.
“I have decided to conduct a United Nations investigation into the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria,” Ban told reporters in his office, adding that “I intend for this investigation to start as soon as practically possible.”
The UN chief said he is working with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which oversees the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the World Health Organization to set up the inquiry.
Ban also urged full cooperation from all parties involved in the Syrian unrest, including “unfettered access.”
On Wednesday, Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin voiced Moscow’s support for the Syrian government’s call for an independent inquiry into the chemical attack by foreign-backed militants in Aleppo. He also accused Western powers, including France and Britain, of attempting to delay a UN probe into the incident.
At least 25 people were killed and many others injured after militants fired a rocket containing poisonous gas into Khan al-Assal village near Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on March 19.
The deadly attack came hours after Syria’s opposition coalition picked Ghassan Hitto, a naturalized American citizen, as the prime minister of the so-called opposition interim government.
HM/JR/SL
