Russia hands over chemical attack evidence to UN

NEW YORK CITY: Russia on Tuesday handed over evidence to the United Nations indicating Syrian rebels used sarin gas in an attack in March, its UN envoy said.

Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Russian experts had been to the scene of the attack at Khan al-Assal near Aleppo and gathered firsthand evidence.

The Russian action risks reigniting an international dispute over the use of chemical weapons in the 26-month-old war, in which the United Nations says up to 100,000 people have been killed.

The Syrian government has refused to let a UN inspection team into the country, but this week invited UN officials for talks on the investigation.

Churkin told reporters a Russian inquiry had established that rebel forces fired a Bashar 3 missile at Khan al-Assal on March 19, killing 26 people, including 16 troops.

The results of the analysis clearly indicate that the ordinance used in Khan al-Assal was not industrially manufactured and was filled with sarin,added Churkin, who said he handed over an 80-page report to UN leader Ban Ki-moon.

There is every reason to believe that it was the armed opposition fighters who used chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal, the Russian ambassador said.

Churkin added that Russia has information that Bashar 3 missiles were produced by a group affiliated to the Syrian Free Army.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the Russian report is being studied.

Britain, France and the United States say they have handed over evidence to UN experts that President Bashar al-Assad's forces have used chemical weapons in the conflict.

Britain and the United States have between them handed over information on 10 alleged chemical arms attacks by government forces, according to a UN diplomat.

The Western nations say they have no evidence that opposition forces have used chemical arms.

Churkin said the Russian report would be sent to the Western powers. He reaffirmed that Russian experts were not impressed by the evidence provided by Britain, France and the United States.

The United Nations has said the material handed over by the Western countries cannot be considered definitive proof because the origin of the evidence has to be verified by UN experts.

Unlike other reports provided to the secretary general, our samples were taken at the projectile impact point by Russian experts in person. They were not transmitted to us through third points, Churkin said.

Syria has said it will let UN experts investigate only the Khan al-Assal attack, but Ban has insisted that there be unfettered access to all sites where there have been allegations of chemical attacks.

The government this week invited Ake Sellstrom, a Swedish expert who heads the UN investigation panel, and Angela Kane, UN High Representative for Disarmament, to Damascus for talks.

Syria's UN ambassador Bashar Jaafari said Monday the aim was to discuss further the mechanism and terms of reference of the UN inquiry set up by Ban in March.