Syrian military dropped chlorine gas in deadly 2018 attack: chemical weapons watchdog

The global chemical weapons watchdog said on Friday that investigators found “reasonable grounds to believe” the Syrian air force released two cylinders containing chlorine gas in the city of Douma in April 2018, killing 43 people.

A report by a team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons provides the latest confirmation that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime used chemical weapons during his country’s civil war.

“The use of chemical weapons in Douma – and anywhere else – is unacceptable and a violation of international law,” said OPCW director general Fernando Arias.

Syrian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the findings. Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 under pressure from the international community after being blamed for another deadly chemical weapons attack, but has not recognized the authority of the investigative team and has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.

The organization says that “credible reasons” is the standard of proof consistently adopted by international fact-finding bodies and commissions of inquiry investigating potential violations of international law.

The report said that the standards found through evidence show at least one Syrian air force helicopter Mi8 / 17 dropped two yellow cylinders in Douma during the government military attack to recapture the city.

One of the cylinders hit the roof of a three-story building and burst, “poisonous gas, chlorine, with a very high concentration, quickly spread through the building killing 43 named people and injuring dozens more,” according to the report. .

A second cylinder exploded through the roof of another building into the apartment below and only partially broke, “so it affected those who first arrived on the scene,” said the report.

Syrian authorities have denied the investigative team access to the site of the chlorine attack, and have suspended the OPCW’s right to vote.

Investigators​​​​interviewed dozens of witnesses and studied blood and urine of survivors as well as samples of soil and building materials, according to the watchdog agency.

Russia’s alternative, Syrian theory is rejected

Several Russian-backed theories about the attack were tested but could not be proven, the team found. Those including chlorine cylinders and corpses had been planted at the site by opposition forces and the poisonous gas came from a nearby warehouse used by the rebels. Syria once said the bodies of people killed elsewhere in the country were brought to Douma to make them look like victims of a gas attack.

The report found that two cylinders carrying chlorine were modified and filled at the Dumayr air base and that the helicopter or helicopters that released them were controlled by the Syrian military’s elite Tiger Forces.

Survivors reached The Associated Press after the Douma attack said they were overwhelmed by the smell of chlorine. Activists said many of the dead were found with foam at their mouths, an indication of suffocation. Medical workers said they were treating people for symptoms that included difficulty breathing and fainting.

The United States, Britain and France blamed Syrian government forces and launched punitive airstrikes. Syria denies responsibility.

Douma is the latest target of the government’s campaign to retake the Ghouta region east of Damascus from rebels after a seven-year rebellion. Militants surrendered the city days after the alleged attack.

International Criminal Court bid rejected

The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team effectively replaces the previous investigative mechanism created between the United Nations and the OPCW in 2015 which was dissolved in 2017 after Russia vetoed the extension of the mandate in the Security Council.

British diplomats at the OPCW tweeted that they were studying the report: “We will work with our partners on the next steps. #NoImpunity”

In an effort to ensure accountability for crimes in Syria, the United Nations has established an “International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism.” Tasked with preserving and analyzing crime evidence and preparing files for potential trials in international courts or tribunals.

LISTENING | George Stroumboulopoulos on the humanitarian crisis in Syria:

Bringing the perpetrators in Syria to justice remains a long way off. Syria’s ally, Russia, has, in the past, blocked efforts by the UN Security Council to order an International Criminal Court investigation into Syria.

The ongoing conflict that began in Syria more than a decade ago has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half of its pre-war population of 23 million.

The OPCW team previously identified Syrian forces as responsible for three chemical attacks in Latamneh in March 2017 and one in Saraqeb in February 2018.