UN team ready to deploy in Syria in 24-48 hours for chemical weapons probe

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday said that the UN fact-finding team is "on stand-by and ready to deploy in 24-48 hours" to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons in attacks in Syria.

"The fact-finding team is on stand-by and ready to deploy in 24-48 hours," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters here late Thursday. "The secretary-general has consistently urged the Syrian authorities to provide full and unfettered access to the team. He renews this urgent call today."

On April 8, the Syrian Foreign Ministry said that the UN request to conduct a full investigation about chemical weapons on all Syrian territories runs counter to the request of the Syrian government.

The Syrian government has recently asked the UN to send a technical team to the northern town of Khan al-Asal to investigate what the government said was a chemical attack by the rebels which killed more than 50 people and left scores of others at hospitals, stressing that the technical team should conduct its work only at the targeted site.

However, the opposition groups in exile called on the UN not only to send a technical team but also to conduct a full investigation.