Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
For all the media villages who have been playing the game of "show us the (classified) evidence" of chemical weapons use in Syria, the U.N. inspectors said Monday there is "clear and convincing evidence" that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in an attack last month in Syria that killed hundreds of people. UN: 'Convincing evidence' of Syria chemical attack:
The findings represent the first official confirmation by scientific experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria's civil war, but the report left the key question of who launched the attack unanswered. The rebels and their U.S. and Western supporters have said the regime of President Bashar Assad was behind the Aug. 21 attack, while the Syrian government and its closest ally, Russia, blame the rebels.
Note: The inspectors were mandated to report on whether chemical weapons were used and if so which ones — not on who was responsible.
And in Geneva, the chairman of a U.N. war crimes panel said it is investigating 14 suspected chemical attacks in Syria, dramatically escalating the stakes. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said the panel had not pinpointed the chemical used or who is responsible.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon presented the U.N. inspectors' report to a closed meeting of the U.N. Security Council before its release.
"This is a war crime and a grave violation of ... international law," Ban told the council in remarks distributed to the press. "The results are overwhelming and indisputable. The facts speak for themselves."
The inspectors' report said "the environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used ... in the Ghouta area of Damascus" on Aug. 21.
"The conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale," the inspectors said in their report to Ban.
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In the report, chief weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom said the team was issuing the findings on the Ghouta attacks "without prejudice" to its continuing investigation and final report on the alleged use of chemical weapons in three other areas. The letter said it hoped to produce that report as soon as possible.
Under an Aug. 13 agreement between the U.N. and the Syrian government, Sellstrom's team was scheduled to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack on March 19 on the village of Khan al Assal outside Aleppo and alleged attacks on two other sites which were kept secret for security reasons.
The inspectors' report for the first time identified the two sites still to be investigated as Sheik Maqsood and Saraqueb.
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In London, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Syria will comply with all Security Council resolutions and will facilitate the mission of the U.N. inspectors in line with the Russian-U.S. agreement. The comments were carried by state-run SANA news agency, which said al-Zoubi made the comments in an interview with Britain-based ITN TV on Sunday.
Meanwhile, invitations were going out Monday to top members of the Syrian National Coalition — the main umbrella opposition group — for an international conference in New York timed to coincide with next week's U.N. General Assembly meeting, French officials said.
The Syrian National Coalition previously has refused to participate in international peace talks in Geneva. After Kerry, Lavrov Meet in Geneva, Hope Grows for New Round of Syria Peace Talks.
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