Updated April 22, 2018 00:29:33

Russia's Foreign Ministry says a team of international chemical weapons inspectors has departed for the Syrian town of Douma, the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack on April 7 that prompted a retaliatory missile strike by the US, UK and France.

The team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was delayed for several days in its attempts to reach Douma.

In a statement on Saturday, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the team had left for the town and decried the delay as "unacceptable".

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said Syria and Russia — whose forces now control the town east of Damascus — had been trying to cover up evidence.

Chemical weapons inspectors are in Syria to try to find out what happened in Douma, but don't expect any definitive finding, writes Anne Barker.

Journalists were allowed access to the suspected attack sites on Monday (local time), but the OPCW said Syrian and Russian authorities blocked the inspectors.

Russia, whose forces in Syria back President Bashar Assad's army, has denied claims that Syrian forces carried out the alleged attack.

Syria and its ally Russia deny any chemical attack took place, and Russian officials have accused Britain of staging a "fake" chemical attack.

The fact-finding mission from the OPCW will investigate reports that government forces launched an April 7 chemical attack in the final stages of their fight to retake the town of Douma from rebels.

The alleged gas attack, which Syrian activists say killed more than 40 people, prompted punitive US, British and French airstrikes.

Photo: Chemical weapons inspectors in Damascus before heading to Douma. (Reuters: Omar Sanadiki)

Reuters

Topics: community-and-society, unrest-conflict-and-war, syrian-arab-republic, russian-federation

First posted April 21, 2018 22:58:31