Russia calls on chemical weapons watchdog to visit Syria's Aleppo

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Friday it wanted the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to urgently send a mission to Aleppo, saying it had evidence Syrian opposition rebels had used chemical weapons there. The ministry said earlier on Friday it had found evidence that there was a high probability that the rebels had used chlorine gas and white phosphorous on the south-west edge of Aleppo in district 1070. It said it was basing its information on a study of soil samples, unexploded shells, and shrapnel. Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Russia would now hand over the evidence to the OPCW and wanted The Hague-based body to urgently send a team to Aleppo to gather its own evidence. He said Russian forces stood ready to help OPCW experts carry out their work in Aleppo. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alexander Winning)