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U.N. Demands Details from Damascus on Commanders Suspected of Using Chemical Weapons | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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OPCW


New York, London – The International Security Council will listen Thursday to a briefing by High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo, who will provide updated information on joint mechanism between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on investigations that started to determine responsibility for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The Council will also discuss on Thursday the report submitted by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, which is the fifth report prepared by Head of Security Council JIM Virginia Gamba and was issued on Monday.

A U.N. investigative panel has been pressing the Assad regime to hand over the names of commanders, military units and other entities suspected of carrying out chemical attacks in Syria, according to a report released Friday.

In its latest report to the Security Council, the joint panel of the U.N. and OPCW said it had formally asked Syria to provide details of air operations, specifically at two air bases from which helicopters carrying the chlorine bombs lifted off.

Investigators are seeking the “names of specific Syrian Arab Armed Forces units and any entity outside the Armed Forces” listed on flight plans, said the report by the U.N.-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM).

“Such information is of great importance, given that commanders are responsible for any assets under their control,” said the report.

The panel said it was awaiting further determinations from the OPCW, which carries out fact-finding missions to establish whether chemical attacks took place, but does not attribute blame.