Analysing Syrian chemical weapons evidence could take three weeks: agency

Reuters
U.N. weapons inspectors who had been gathering evidence and samples relating to alleged chemical weapons use in Syria enter the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) building in The Hague August 31, 2013. REUTERS/Phil Nijhuis

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Fully assessing the evidence collected by weapons inspectors investigating last week's alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria could take up to three weeks, the organization in charge of the investigation said on Saturday. The team, which included nine experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and three from the World Health Organisation, arrived at the OPCW's Hague headquarters on Saturday evening after leaving Syria early in the morning. "The evidence collected by the team will now undergo laboratory analysis and technical evaluation according to the established and recognized procedures and standards," the OPCW said in a statement. "These procedures may take up to three weeks." (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Alison Williams)