‘UN inspectors to arrive in Syria Sunday’

A UN team of chemical weapons inspectors is to arrive in Syria on Sunday to investigate allegations of use of chemical weapons in the Arab country, a report says.

Citing unnamed official, Reuters news agency said on Friday that the team would contain inspectors from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

The UN inspectors plan to examine allegations of use of sarin gas and other toxic nerve agents in the country.

The visit will took place after the Syrian government on Thursday announced its readiness to cooperate with the UN team of chemical weapons inspectors to probe the sites of alleged use of weapons.

“The negotiations between Syria and the UN ended positively and the team is expected in Syria in the coming days,” a Syrian Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“There were no difficulties in the negotiations and Syria said it is ready to give the team all the facilities it needs to carry out its mission,” the official added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also confirmed on Wednesday details of the trip had been worked out with the Syrian government.

The UN team is to be led by arms expert Ake Sellstrom of Sweden and UN disarmament chief Angela Kane.

Under an agreement reached with the Syrian government, the UN team will visit three sites in the country over two weeks.

The first site on the UN list is the town of Khan al-Assal, located near the northern city of Aleppo. The Syrian government reported a chemical attack carried out by foreign-backed militants on March 19 that killed 26 people.

The other two sites are Ataybah near the capital, where a suspected attack took place in March and Homs, where chemical weapons were reportedly used in December last year.

The Syrian government and foreign-backed militants fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad accuse each other of using chemical weapons.

A Russian-led inquiry recently revealed that militants carried out a chemical attack in Khan al-Assal in March.

The United States and its allies, such as the UK and France, have accused Damascus of using chemical weapons.

Syria has categorically denied the allegations, saying that Takfiris have used chemical weapons on several occasions, including an attack in the region of Khan al-Assal in Aleppo Province on March 19, where over two dozen people died.

Syria has been gripped by a deadly unrest since March 2011, and many people, including large numbers of government forces, have been killed in the violence.