UNITED NATIONS — UN experts will travel to Syria as soon as possible to investigate three alleged incidents of chemical weapons, the United Nations announced Wednesday.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the green light for the investigation followed ‘‘the understanding reached with the government of Syria’’ during last week’s visit to Damascus by UN disarmament chief Angela Kane and the head of the chemical weapons investigation team, Ake Sellstrom.
Nesirky said Sellstrom’s team will visit Khan al-Assal, a village on the southwestern outskirts of the rebel-captured city of Aleppo, which was under attack by government forces Wednesday. The government and rebels blame each other for a purported chemical attack on the village on March 19 that killed at least 30 people.
Nesirky did not give any details of the other two incidents to be investigated. A well-informed UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Sellstrom is expected to choose the two other sites based on the technical and scientific information the UN has received.
Syria initially asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to investigate the Khan al-Assal incident and balked at a broader investigation sought by the UN chief after Britain, France, and the United States sent the UN information about a dozen other alleged attacks in Homs, Damascus, Aleppo, and elsewhere.
Kane and Sellstrom’s visit to Damascus last week led to Syria’s agreement to the probe of three incidents. The diplomat stressed that the chemical weapons experts should have access to all 13 sites.
The investigation team’s mandate is to report on whether chemical weapons were used, and if so, which chemical weapon, but not to determine the group responsible for an attack.