UN to launch chemical weapons probe in Syria

UNITED NATIONS - UN experts will travel to Syria imminently to investigate claims of chemical weapons use during that country's civil war after the United Nations and the Syrian government agreed on details of the trip, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Wednesday.

The United Nations said two weeks ago that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government had agreed to let the inspectors, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, travel to three sites where chemical weapons were reported to have been used.

Ban's press office said in a statement on Wednesday that the Syrian government had now "formally accepted the modalities essential for cooperation to ensure the proper, safe and efficient conduct of the mission."

"The departure of the team is now imminent," it said. "As agreed with the government of Syria, the team will remain in the country to conduct its activities, including on-site visits, for a period of up to 14 days, extendable upon mutual consent."

The United Nations said Sellstrom's team had completed their trip preparations in The Hague last weekend.

One site to be visited by the UN experts is Khan al-Assal in Aleppo, where the Syrian government says rebels used chemical weapons in March. The other two locations have not yet been identified.

Rebels seized Khan al-Assal from Assad's forces last month. The opposition Syrian National Coalition has told Ban it would cooperate with the chemical weapons inquiry and "welcome UN investigators into all territories under our control."

The United Nations said it has received 13 reports of possible chemical weapons use - one from Syria's government and the rest mainly from Britain, France and the United States.