Syria chemical attack evidence must be preserved: U.N.

GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations war crimes investigators on Friday condemned the suspected use of chemical weapons in the Syrian town of Douma in eastern Ghouta last weekend and called for evidence to be preserved with a view to future prosecutions. "Perpetrators of such attacks must be identified and held accountable," the U.N.'s International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a statement issued in Geneva. "We stress the imperative need to preserve evidence, and call upon all relevant authorities to ensure no party tampers with suspected sites, objects, witnesses, or victims before independent monitors and investigators are able to access the area," it said, noting that inspectors from the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons were due to visit shortly. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Tom Miles)