Chemical weapons inspectors enter Douma two weeks after attack

Chemical weapons inspectors collected samples from Syria'sDoumaon Saturday, two weeks after a suspected gas attack there followed by retaliatory strikes by Western powers on the Syrian government's chemical facilities. The site visit, confirmed by the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, would allow the agency to proceed with an independent investigation to determine what chemicals, if any, were used in the April 7 attack that medical workers said killed more than 40 people. Doumawas the final target of the government's sweeping campaign to seize back control of the eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus from rebels after seven years of revolt. Militants gave up the town days after the alleged attack. The US, France, and Britain blamed the President Bashar al-Assad's government for the attack, and struck suspected Syrian chemical weapons facilities one week later. The Syrian government and its ally Russia denied responsibility for the attack. OPCW inspectors arrived in Damascus just hours before the April 15 strikes but were delayed from visiting the site until Saturday, leading Western officials and Syrian activists to accuse Russia and the Syrian government of staging a cover-up. Members of the Russian military police walking amid destruction in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma Credit: OUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images "I won't find any hope in my heart until the Assad regime is held accountable and eradicated from government in Syria," said Bilal Abou Salah, aDoumamedia activist who left the town after the government takeover. He said he feared Russian and Syrian government personnel destroyed potential evidence in the two weeks since the alleged attack. The OPCW said in a statement that it visited "one of the sites" inDoumato collect samples for analysis at agency-designated laboratories, adding it would "consider future steps including another possible visit toDouma." It said the mission will draft a report based on the findings, "as well other information and materials collected by the team." The OPCW mission is not mandated to apportion to blame for the attack. Chemical sensors including a flame photometric detector and an ion mobility spectrometer are in the OPCW's toolkit Credit: JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images A UNsecurity team had scoutedDoumaon Tuesday to see if it was safe for weapons inspectors to visit. The team came under small arms and explosives fire, leading the agency to delay its mission. Journalists visitingDoumathe previous day, escorted by government minders, experienced no security issues. Russian ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the delays to the OPCW team were "unacceptable," in a statement Saturday. Doumais just minutes away from Damascus, where the OPCW team is based. Images emerging fromDoumain the hours after the attack showed lifeless bodies collapsed in crowded rooms, some with foam around their noses and mouths.
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