UN inspection team back in Syria (Roundup)

The UN chemical weapons investigation team returned to Syria Wednesday to complete its probe into the alleged chemical weapons use in the country as Russia reiterated its call for a political solution to the strife-torn country, Xinhua reported.

The fact-finding group was assembled in The Hague in early August. Swedish expert Ake Sellstrom, a former UN weapons inspector in Iraq, was asked by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to set up the group in March.

The team arrived in Syria at the request of the Syrian government Aug 18 and inspected some locations in the countryside of the capital Damascus for the use of chemical weapons.

The team left Syria Aug 30 to analyse initial findings after which they affirmed the use of nerve agent Sarin in the eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus, which allegedly killed hundreds of people.

The rebels and the Syrian government have been trading accusations over the responsibility for the attack.

UN officials had Tuesday said the team would return to complete its investigation.

In a statement, the UN said the investigation would include gathering evidence from an alleged chemical weapons attack March 19 in the town of Khan al-Assal in Syria's northern province of Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels in July.

The Syrian government accused the rebels of staging the Khan al-Assal attack and urged the UN to send an investigation team.

In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry issued a statement saying that only political and diplomatic methods could settle the crisis in Syria and stabilise the situation in the region as a whole.

During a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi, Moscow called for preparations for the international conference on Syria to be completed, Xinhua reported citing the statement.

The two diplomats met on the fringes of the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Lavrov, who also met UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, promised Russia would allocate $10 million in aid for Syrian refugees and displaced persons.

The Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011, prompted a massive influx of Syrian refugees into neighbouring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

The Russian financial contribution will be split between the Jordanian and Lebanese governments.

According to the UNHCR, the total number of Syrian refugees has reached 2.6 million, most of them in Jordan and Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in Beirut the UN's refugee agency said Wednesday that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has crossed 755,000 after an increase of about 14,000 refugees in a week.

More than 650,000 refugees were registered in Lebanon while more than 105,000 are still waiting for their registration process to be completed, Xinhua reported citing a weekly report of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It added that the registered refugees are benefitting from aid provided by the Lebanese government, the UN agencies and some non-governmental organisations.