Foreign Ministry: Terrorist Groups Obstruct Work of Fact-finding Mission

DAMASCUS,(ST)_ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stressed that based on Syria’s cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and commitment to agreeing to receive fact-finding mission on the allegations of using chlorine gas, the competent authorities ensured security protection for members of this mission in the areas under the control of the Syria forces.

In a statement yesterday, the ministry explained that on 27.05.2014, the mission team was informed an approval to a cease-fire in the area in Kafr Zeta in north of rural Hama, as from eight o’clock in the morning until six o’clock evening to facilitate the work of this mission and after the arrival of a team which is consisted of four UN SUV cars at Taiba Imam village, the Syrian side  informed team that is not possible to provide protection to them after this point.

The statement continued that on their own, members of the mission decided to continue without keeping up with Syrian security towards the village of Kafr Zeta and 2 km from the village of Taiba Imam, one of the mission ‘s cars was blown by improvised explosive device, forcing its occupants to move to another car, and thereby to turn back towards the village of Taiba Imam, however, while other two cars were highjack by terrorist groups carrying ten people, five of them Syrians drivers and six are team fact-finding mission members.

“Bearing these facts to the Director-General of the Organization of chemical weapons, Syria reaffirms that terrorist groups are obstructing work of the fact-finding mission and committing terrorist crimes against UN members of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as they always do with humanitarian convoys operated by the United Nations, “the statement concluded.

T. Fateh