AlQa'dah 7, 1434, Sep 13, 2013, SPA -- A report by U.N. chemical-weapons experts likely will confirm that poison gas was used in an August 21 attack on rebel-held Damascus suburbs that killed hundreds of people, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday. "I believe that the report will be an overwhelming, overwhelming report that chemical weapons [were] used, even though I cannot publicly say at this time before I receive this report," the secretary-general said at a U.N. meeting. Ban was referring to the report by the U.N. expert team led by Ake Sellstrom. The team was tasked with determining whether chemical weapons were used, not who was responsible, though diplomats said this week that factual reporting from the team likely will implicate forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.N. chief said al-Assad "has committed many crimes against humanity," though he did not say whether it was the Syrian leader's forces or rebels who used chemical agents in the August 21 attack.
