UN envoy arrives in Syria for talks on chemical probe

UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane (centre) arrived in Syria's capital on Saturday, Aug 24, 2013, for talks aimed at establishing the terms of an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, an AFP journalist said. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane (centre) arrived in Syria's capital on Saturday, Aug 24, 2013, for talks aimed at establishing the terms of an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, an AFP journalist said. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

DAMASCUS (AFP) - UN Under Secretary General Angela Kane arrived in Syria's capital on Saturday for talks aimed at establishing the terms of an inquiry into alleged chemical weapons attacks, an AFP journalist said.

Ms Kane did not comment to reporters as she entered the Four Seasons hotel, only a few km away from the site of Wednesday's reported chemical weapons strikes.

Her visit comes after UN chief Ban Ki Moon handed her the task and called for Syria's regime and its opponents to cooperate in the UN efforts to establish an investigation into the attacks said to have killed hundreds of people.

Opponents of Mr Bashar al-Assad said the president's forces killed 1,300 people when they unleased chemical weapons east and southwest of Damascus in the attacks on Wednesday.

The Syrian government has strongly denied the accusations, but so far it has not said whether it will let UN inspectors visit the sites.

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