Syria Envoy Says Soldiers Gassed In New Incidents

Syria’s UN envoy said Wednesday that dozens of Syrian soldiers inhaled poison gas in new incidents in his country and called on the United Nations to investigate.

Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told reporters he had asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to extend the mandate of a UN chemical weapons team now in Syria to include the “heinous” new incidents.

He said “dozens” of Syrian soldiers were being treated in hospitals after the incidents on August 22, 24 and 25 in the Damascus suburbs. Jaafari gave no other details.

The envoy spoke as the UN envoys for Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States held their first talks on a British draft UN Security Council resolution condemning a suspected chemical weapon attack near Damascus on August 21, which western nations blamed on President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

Source : Ahram