(13 Nov 2018) A team of experts being set up to investigate poison gas and nerve agent attacks in Syria will be ready to start work early next year, the chief of the global chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) voted to investigate nerve agent and poison gas attacks in June.
The vote came after Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of a joint UN-OPCW investigative mechanism that established responsibility for a string of chemical attacks in Syria.
The joint team accused Syria of using chlorine gas in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015 and the nerve agent sarin in an attack in April 2017 in the town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed about 100 people - accusations the Syrian government denies.
The UN-OPCW team also accused the Islamic State extremist group of using mustard gas twice in 2015 and 2016.
OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said that recruitment for the team was difficult as it was necessary to recruit from all over the world to guarantee fair geographical distribution.
He said however that a coordinator for the team had already been appointed and more experts and analysts were in the process of being hired.
The organisation's member states are meeting next week and must approve its annual budget, which also will cover the new team's work.
The team is expected to be made up of about 10-12 investigators supported by experts and chemical inspectors who already work at the OPCW.
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