OPCW experts take samples in Syria's Douma

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Inspectors from the global chemical arms watchdog on Saturday took samples in the Syrian town of Douma after an alleged poison gas attack, the organisation said.

A fact-finding mission from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) visited Douma "today to collect samples for analysis in connection with allegations of chemical weapons use on 7 April 2018."

"The OPCW will evaluate the situation and consider future steps including another possible visit to Douma," the organisation said in a statement.

A laboratory technician controls a test vial at the OPCW (The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) headquarters in the Hague, The Netherlands, on April 20, 2017. /VCG Photo

The samples collected by the nine-strong team will be brought back to the OPCW's laboratories in Rijswijk, a suburb of the Dutch City The Hague where the organisation has its headquarters.

They will be "dispatched for analysis to the OPCW's designated labs. Based on the analysis of the sample results as well other information and materials collected by the team" a report will be drawn up, the OPCW added.

Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier OPCW experts left Damascus on Saturday morning for the town of Douma.

Inspectors from the international chemical weapons watchdog arrived in Syria last Saturday, but have yet to enter Douma, some 20 kilometers away from the capital, a fortnight after the purported incident took place.

United Nations vehicles are seen outside the hotel where the international experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are staying in Damascus on April 19, 2018. /VCG Photo

OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu said earlier this week that "pending security issues" were keeping inspectors from reaching the town.

On Tuesday, a UN reconnaissance team came under fire while inspecting two sites in Douma ahead of the arrival of the OPCW investigators.

(With input from AFP)