UN report expected to confirm chemical arms in Syria - Ban

Ban says that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has committed many crimes against humanity".

SYRIA: A report by UN chemical weapons experts will likely confirm that poison gas was used in an August 21 attack on Damascus suburbs that killed hundreds of people, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on 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," Ban said at a UN meeting.

He was referring to a report by the UN expert team led by Ake Sellstrom of Sweden. Ban also said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "has committed many crimes against humanity," though he did not say whether it was Assad's forces or rebels who used chemical toxins in the August 21 attack.

Earlier, President Bashar al-Assad confirmed for the first time on Thursday that Syria plans to give up its chemical weapons and demanded that the US drop threats of military action against his regime in return.