Douma is closed for OPCW but open for journalists

A team of the OPCW arrived in Damascus on Saturday April 14 to investigate the chemical attack which happened in Douma, a city about 8 km from the downtown  Damascus.

On Monday , the UK delegation of OPCW stated that OPCW inspectors are  ‘not yet’ allowed in Syria’s Douma, Al Jazeera reports.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov immediately denied the allegations that inspectors were not being allowed access, according to Russian news agency RIA.

He said the arrival of the inspectors were delayed as a result of the US-led air raids on Saturday.

This is nonsense. The area of Douma has not been hit. There is no reason at all to forbid the OPCW-team to enter Douma and start the investigation.

Another reason given by Russia and Syria was the lack of an appropriate UN permit.

A senior Russian diplomat has said inspectors from the international chemical weapons watchdog cannot access the site of an alleged chemical attack near the Syrian capital without an appropriate UN permit.

On Monday evening  it was reported the experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) will travel to the Syrian city of Douma on Wednesday, Russian Defence Ministry official Igor Kirillov said at a news conference in The Hague on Monday (Reuters)

At April 12 Assad government forces ‘took entire’ Eastern Ghouta, according media. 

Swedish television at April 16 went to the house were about 40 people died because of the chemical attack. The item can be seen here. Reporter Stefan Borg  talks to someone who survived.

This is a translation  starting from when the first survivor starts speaking:

“We were sitting in the basement when it happened. The [missile] hit the house at 7PM. We ran out while the women and children ran inside. They didn’t know the house had been struck from above and was totally filled with gas. Those who ran inside died immediately. I ran out completely dizzy.”

Journalist: “What happened to the rest of your family?”

“Everybody died. My wife, my brothers, my mother. Everybody died.”

Survivor continues speaking after going down into basement:
“Women and children sat in here, and boys and men sat there. (2:27 into video) Suddenly there was a sound as if the valve of a gas tube was opened.” “It’s very difficult to explain. I can’t explain. I don’t know what I should say. The situation makes me cry. Children and toddlers, around 25 children.”

 

So while OPCW is not allowed to enter, journalists are.