UNITED NATIONS (AA) - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instructed the UN UnderSecretary General & High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, who is now in Damascus to oversee the UN investigation on claims over use of chemical weapons, to warn the Syrian government and opposition forces over the safety and security of the investigation teams.
Issuing a statement via the office of his spokesperson, Ban said Prof. Sellstrom and his team carried out the first day of investigation and he was told that their vehicle was attacked by an unknown sniper.
"Despite such very difficult circumstances, our team returned to Damascus and replaced their car and proceeded to a suburb of Damascus to carry on their investigation," he added.
Ban stated that the teams visited two hospitals, interviewing witnesses, survivors and doctors, and also collecting some samples.
"I will have to wait a little bit more to get the first view of Dr. Sellstrom, but in the meantime I have instructed Angela Kane to register a strong complaint to the Syrian government and authorities of opposition forces so that this will never happen and the safety and security of the investigation teams will be secured from tomorrow. And I am awaiting a fuller report," he concluded.
- UN teams targeted, vehicle shot by snipers -
Speaking to the correspondents, Acting Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq said the first vehicle of the UN chemical weapons investigation team was deliberately shot at multiple times by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area.
"As the car was no longer serviceable, the team returned safely back to the government check-point and will return to the area after replacing the vehicle," he added.
Haq also noted that the team would continue its investigation work on Tuesday, stressing that they would not give any further details on the place of work and samples taken by the team from the area.
