Syria
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaks to reporters while standing with Ake Sellstrom (R), a Swedish chemical weapons expert, at United Nations Headquarters following a closed United Nations Security Council meeting discussing a just-released U.N. chemical weapons inspectors' report about the use of sarin gas in Syria last month [EPA]
Syria
US Secretary of State John Kerry will host China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a meeting and working lunch on Thursday at which Syria and North Korea will be discussed, the State Department said on Monday.
[Reuters]
Syria
Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said a key point now was that of accountability.
"Here we have all of the evidence about a crime but we don't so far have a court that's going to look into the crime," he said.
"Ban Ki-moon doesn't have the power to refer [the case] to the International Criminal Court. That is the role of the Security Council," our correspondent said, adding that all attempts in the last 2,5 years to get the Council to act, have been blocked by Russia. who does not want the issue to be referred to the international criminal courts.
"Here we have all of the evidence about a crime but we don't so far have a court that's going to look into the crime," he said.
"Ban Ki-moon doesn't have the power to refer [the case] to the International Criminal Court. That is the role of the Security Council," our correspondent said, adding that all attempts in the last 2,5 years to get the Council to act, have been blocked by Russia. who does not want the issue to be referred to the international criminal courts.
Syria
Full UN report presented to the UN Security Council.
"This result leaves us with the deepest concern"
"This result leaves us with the deepest concern"
Syria
Selected quotes from Ban Ki Moon's press conference in New York on latest UN report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria:
"This is a war crime. It is the worst use of chemical weapons on civilians in the 21st century"
"I urged UNSC to act immediately. After two and half years of tragedy, it is time for UNSC to show leadership"
"Communities who once lived in relative harmony are now torn by sectarian division"
"I hope this will serve as a wake-up call"
"It is for others to decide [who is responsible] for this crime [but] they must be held responsible"
"This is a war crime. It is the worst use of chemical weapons on civilians in the 21st century"
"I urged UNSC to act immediately. After two and half years of tragedy, it is time for UNSC to show leadership"
"Communities who once lived in relative harmony are now torn by sectarian division"
"I hope this will serve as a wake-up call"
"It is for others to decide [who is responsible] for this crime [but] they must be held responsible"
Syria
Anita McNaught reports from Antakya on the helicopter crash near the Turkish-Syrian border, and the tensions between Turkey and Syria.
Syria
Here's the tracsript of Ban Ki-Moon's address to UNSC on findings of last month's Syria chemical weapons attack:
It is with a heavy heart that I submit to the Security Council the report of the United Nations Missions to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons on the incident that occurred on 21 August 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus.
As I join you here, the President of the General Assembly has been given a copy of the report so that he can inform the Member States.
I wish to express my immense gratitude to the Head of the Mission, Professor Åke Sellström, and his team of scientists and technical experts, for their stellar work. They performed in battlefield conditions, in record time. Impartial and independent, they represent the best of the United Nations and I thank them for their contribution.
I am also grateful to the Directors-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the World Health Organization for their indispensable support.
The Mission has concluded that chemical weapons were used on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus in the context of the ongoing conflict in Syria. The attack resulted in numerous casualties, particularly among civilians.
The Mission’s findings are based on the evidence it obtained in the course of its activities in the Ghouta area. The Mission adhered to the most stringent protocols available for such an investigation, including to ensure the chain of custody for all samples.
The planning for the Mission was complex and highly delicate. Routes of entry into the relevant areas and other crucial elements remained uncertain until the final moments. The Mission was also the victim of a sniper attack. Despite these difficulties and dangers, the Mission was able to carry out extensive activities on site in the limited time it had available.
Syria
A UN report detailing the use of chemical weapons in a devastating attack in Damascus last month has been released.
"The environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used ... in the Ghouta area of Damascus'' on August 21.
"The conclusion is that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic ... against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale,'' the report said.
Al Jazeera's James Bays reporting from the United Nations in New York: "the interesting thing in this report is the details of the rockets used".
Syria
UN leader Ban Ki-moon told the UN Security Council on Monday that the use of chemical weapons in Syria is a "war crime" and demanded the threat of sanctions to back a plan to
destroy the arms.
Ban made the comments in closed consultations of the 15-nation Security Council at which he told how doctors found people dying in the street after a
sarin gas attack near Damascus on August 21, diplomats at the meeting told AFP news agency.
[AFP]
destroy the arms.
Ban made the comments in closed consultations of the 15-nation Security Council at which he told how doctors found people dying in the street after a
sarin gas attack near Damascus on August 21, diplomats at the meeting told AFP news agency.
[AFP]
Syria
Turkish warplanes have shot down a Syrian helicopter after it violated Turkish air space, Turkey's deputy PM Arinc said.
[Reuters]
Syria
Dozens of Syrian pro-regime activists have set up a "human shield'' camp on Mount Qassioun overlooking Damascus in an effort to stop any US-led strike on their country.
Despite Saturday's announcement of a US-Russian deal averting an immediate military strike on Damascus, diehard government supporters are refusing to budge.
Mount Qassioun, site of a presidential palace, dominates Damascus and is traditionally a popular spot for family outings, to take in the view or enjoy
the cool air and escape from the stifling summer heat of the city.
Despite Saturday's announcement of a US-Russian deal averting an immediate military strike on Damascus, diehard government supporters are refusing to budge.
Mount Qassioun, site of a presidential palace, dominates Damascus and is traditionally a popular spot for family outings, to take in the view or enjoy
the cool air and escape from the stifling summer heat of the city.
Now the Syrian army has set up artillery positions to shell rebel-held areas below, making it a prime target for any Western military action.
[AFP]
[AFP]
Syria
UN Chemical weapons investigator Ake Sellstrom handing over his report on alleged gas attack in Damascus. From our correspondent at the UN HQ in New York.
Syria
A photograph of a new report confirms that the deadly nerve agent sarin was used in deadly gas attack in Damascus on August 21, the Reuters news agency said.
By zooming in on the photo, which shows Ake Sellstrom, the chief UN chemical weapons investigator, passing on the document to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the report states: projectiles containing "the nerve agent sarin were used."
By zooming in on the photo, which shows Ake Sellstrom, the chief UN chemical weapons investigator, passing on the document to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the report states: projectiles containing "the nerve agent sarin were used."
The report will be officially released later on Monday.
[Reuters]
[Reuters]
Syria
A Jordanian official says the number of Syrian refugees crossing into the kingdom has jumped nearly tenfold last week to an average of 900 people per day, its highest level in months.
Colonel Zaher Abu-Shehab, who oversees refugee camps for the Jordanian government, says at the same time the number returning home has also surged,
climbing to 600 per day.
climbing to 600 per day.
Syrian families often move back and forth across the border multiple times as fighting ebbs and flows. Many find conditions in desert refugee camps to be only marginally better than their battle-scarred homes. Refugee arrivals were high early this year but dwindled to an average of 100 per day in May and thereafter, Abu-Shehab said. Jordan is the second largest host of Syrian refugees after Turkey, sheltering more than 560,000.
[AP]
Syria
The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria is investigating 14 alleged attacks with chemical weapons or chemical agents in Syria since it began monitoring Syrian human rights abuses in September 2011, the commission's chairman Paulo Pinheiro told a news conference.
[AFP]
Syria
If for someone it is more important to constantly threaten... that is another path to wrecking completely the chances of calling the Geneva-2 conference." - Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Lavrov has responded to the three-way meeting between the US, UK and France that emphasised the need for a tough UN resolution on Syria with claims that the announcements could wreck peace efforts.
He added he was "convinced that despite those announcements... the American side will firmly adhere, as a normal negotiating partner, to what was reached" at talks with Russia in Geneva on Saturday.
Syria
Across northern Syria, there has been an upsurge in crimes and abuses committed by extremist anti-government armed groups along with an influx of rebel foreign fighters. Entire brigades are now made up from fighters who have crossed into Syria, with Al Muhajireen being one of the most active."
Paulo Pinheiro, chair of a UN human rights independent inquiry speaking to the UN Human Rights Council.
[Reuters]
Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday it may be time to consider efforts to force foes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend an international peace conference instead of just urging them to do so.
He also said after talks with Egypt's foreign minister that any calls for a swift UN resolution threatening potential punishment for Syria under Chapter VII of the UN Charter - which can include the use of force - showed a "lack of understanding" of an agreement reached for Syria to abandon its chemical arms.
[Reuters]
Syria
In a news conference following their three-way meeting in Paris, John Kerry, William Hague and Francois Hollande said they agree Syria must face consequences if it fails to comply with every part of a UN resolution.
If Assad fails in time to abide by the terms of this framework, make no mistake, we are all agreed - and that includes Russia - that there will be consequences." - Secretary of State John Kerry.
Syria
France, Britain and the United States agreed at three-way Paris talks on Monday to seek a "strong and robust" UN resolution that sets precise and binding deadlines on removal of chemical weapons, the office of French President Francois Hollande said.
The statement followed talks involving the foreign ministers of the three countries and Hollande in the French capital two days after Russia and the United States hammered out a deal on chemical weapons that could avert US military action.
Syria
The school year has begun in Syria, but attending class is out of the question for thousands of children.
Syria
Children play on a damaged street in Douma, eastern Ghouta near Damascus.
syria, duma, Al Ghouta, damascus
Syria
There have been reports of conflict within the various groups of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Our colleague Basma Atassi reports that tension between rival rebel groups has reached new heights as the US threatened to strike Assad regime.
syria, rebels, Bashar al Assad
Syria
Jihadists and members of hardline Islamist groups make up almost half of forces fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to extracts from a British defence study published in Monday's Daily Telegraph newspaper.
The analysis by defence consultancy IHS Jane's, due to be published in full later this week, puts the number of rebel forces at around 100,000, the Telegraph reported.
But these fighters have split into as many as 1,000 bands since violence flared two years ago, the study concluded.
Of the rebel forces, IHS Jane's estimates that around 10,000 are jihadists fighting for groups linked to al-Qaeda and another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists, who differ from jihadists in that they are concentrated only on the Syrian conflict, and not on the global Islamist fight.
"The insurgency is now dominated by groups which have at least an Islamist viewpoint on the conflict," Charles Lister, author of the analysis, told the British newspaper.
"The idea that it is mostly secular groups leading the opposition is just not borne out.
"If the West looks as though it is not interested in removing Assad, moderate Islamists are also likely to be pushed further towards extremists," he warned.
The study is based on interviews with fighters and on intelligence estimates.
syria, telegraph, islamist, Al Qaeda, IHS Jane's, britain
Syria
Ake Sellstrom, left, head of the chemical weapons team working in Syria, hands a report on the August 21 Al-Ghouta massacre to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, in this handout picture provided by the United Nations. [Reuters]
syria, Ban Ki-moon, chemical weapons, Ake Sellstrom, Al Ghouta massacre
Syria
An old damaged Syriac Catholic Church is pictured in Homs on September 15, 2013. [REUTERS]
syria, Syriac Catholic Church,homs
Syria
The UN says its chief chemical weapons inspector has turned over his team's report on last month's alleged poison gas attack in Syria to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said the report was transmitted on Sunday and the secretary-general will brief a closed session of the UN Security Council on its contents on Monday morning.
He will also brief the 193-member General Assembly later that day.
The inspection team led by Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom was mandated to report on whether chemical weapons were used in the Aug. 21 attack in the Damascus suburbs and, if so, which chemical agents were used - not on who was responsible.
The secretary-general said on Friday that he believed there would be "an overwhelming report" that chemical weapons were used in the attack.
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