UN Chemical Arms Experts To Visit Syria

People injured in what the government said was a chemical-weapons attack breathe through oxygen masks as they are treated at a hospital in the city of Aleppo in March.

The United Nations has announced that UN experts are due to visit Syria "imminently" to investigate claims of the use of chemical weapons in the war-shattered country.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that the Syrian government had "formally accepted the modalities essential for cooperation to ensure the proper, safe, and efficient conduct of the mission."

The statement said Syria’s government had agreed to permit the investigators to stay in the country for at least two weeks, and the team will be allowed to make visits to sites where chemical arms were allegedly used.

Britain, France, and the United States have accused government forces of using chemical weapons.

The allegations have been denied by the government, which has accused rebel forces of using such arms.

Based on reporting by Reuters, dpa, and AFP