UN leader calls for chemical weapons investigation

(Vatican Radio) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has made a fresh appeal to the Syrian authorities to allow investigations into alleged use of chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict in Syria.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been meeting Dr. Ake Sellstrom, the leader of a fact-finding mission into allegations that Syian authorities have been using chemical weapons.

Secretary-General Ban said he takes seriously the recent intelligence report of the United States about the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

"On-site activities are essential if the United Nations is to be able to establish the facts and clear all the doubts surrounding this issue," he said. "A credible and comprehensive inquiry requires full access to the sites where chemical weapons are alleged to have been used. I again urge Syrian authorities to allow the investigation to proceed without delay and without any conditions."

The Secretary-General said that Dr. Sellstrom and his fellow experts are ready to deploy to Syria within 24 to 48 hours.

He added that an advance team is positioned in Cyprus and even as they await Syrian consent to enter the country, Dr. Sellstrom and his colleagues have been doing what they can to gather and analyze available information.

In Syria, violence, especially sectarian-motivated, appears to be on the rise across the region. On Monday, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi escaped unharmed from an assassination attempt in Damascus.

Listen to Nathan Morley's report: