United Nations officials “came under small arms fire” when they tried to reach the scene of a reported chemical weapons attack in Syria, the chief of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced Wednesday.
“On arrival at Site 1, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw,” OPCW Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü said during a meeting at The Hague. “At Site 2, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus.”
That team was deployed by United Nations Department of Safety and Security, in advance of the OPCW investigators, to assess the security situation on the ground in Douma. Russia, which has denied that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime carried out a gas attack that reportedly killed dozens and injured hundreds of civilians, promised to guarantee the security of the OPCW investigators.
“The UNDSS will continue to work with the Syrian National Authority, the local Councils in Douma, and the Russian Military Police to review the security situation,” Üzümcü said. “At present, we do not know when the [OPCW] team can be deployed to Douma. Of course, I shall only consider such deployment following approval by the UNDSS, and provided that our team can have unhindered access to the sites.”
The incident took place on Monday, just days after Russia and Syria touted their full control over the city.
“Today marked a landmark event in Syria’s history,” Yuri Yevtushenko, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing parties in Syria, said in remarks carried by Russian-run media. “The state flag was hoisted on the Douma building which signaled [Damascus’] control over this settlement and, hence, over all of Eastern Ghouta.”
Western officials accused Russia and Syria of trying to bar investigators from reaching the sites, after initial reports that the Assad regime had cited “pending security issues” to justify delaying the OPCW’s trip to Douma.
“The Syrian regime has reportedly been seeking to conceal the evidence by searching evacuees from Douma to ensure samples are not being smuggled from this area, and a wider operation to conceal the facts of the attack is underway, supported by the Russians,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday.
