An worldwide team blamed the government of Bashar al Assad for using chlorine gas in two attacks.
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“The White House says it is now “impossible to deny” the regime repeatedly launched gas attacks against the Syrian people in 2014 and 2015″.
It said 13 alleged the use of sarin, 12 mustard gas, four VX nerve gas, 41 chlorine, and 61 other toxic chemicals. According to the committee’s findings, the Syrian Air Force bombed at least 2 villages by releasing toxic substances in 2014 and 2015. That averted a USA military strike in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta the previous month.
The United States, Britain and France maintain that only the regime has helicopters, but Russia, Damascus’ ally, insists that there is no concrete proof that Assad’s forces carried out the attacks.
It also determined there was sufficient information to conclude that Islamic State militants were the “only entity with the ability, capability, motive and the means to use sulfur mustard gas in Marea on 21 August, 2015”.
JIM is expected to continue its investigation into the remaining confirmed cases, as well as any other confirmed chemical weapons uses referred to the JIM by the OPCW Fact Finding Mission.
The administration on Wednesday also condemned that attack and highlighted its efforts to curb ISIS’ chemical weapons activities, including targeted airstrikes and the capture of an ISIS chemical expert in March.
Samples collected by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at multiple sites in Syria revealed chemical agents that Syria never declared after it agreed in 2013 to turn over all its stockpiles for destruction and join the Chemical Weapons Convention, according to a two-page summary of a confidential OPCW report that was given to the United Nations Security Council.
“We urge all United Nations member states and parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, including Russian Federation and Iran, to participate in this effort”.
“When it comes to proliferation, the use of chemical weapons, of such weapons of mass destruction, we can not afford to be weak”.
The council is due to discuss the report on Tuesday and could decide to impose sanctions on Syria or ask the International Criminal Court to take up the matter as a war crime.
Following the August 30th discussion by the Security Council, the report will be made public.
Churkin called the 95-page document produced by the global team from the United Nations and the chemical weapons watchdog “a very complicated report which needs to be studied by experts”.
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They were destroyed at sea the next year, but it now appears that Assad did not hand over all of the country’s weapons.
