(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, 27 GEN - The Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is about to publish a
report stating that there are "reasonable grounds to believe"
that the Syrian government was responsible for an attack with
chemical weapons against civilians on the outskirts of the
capital Damascus in 2018, according to Syrian and pan Arab media
outlets which quoted the global watchdog based in The Hague.
A reported 43 people died in an attack in April 2018 against
the town of Duma, according to a death toll drafted by several
reliable sources which could not be independently verified on
the ground.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a report released Friday that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Syrian government was responsible for an attack with chemical weapons against civilians on the outskirts of the capital Damascus in 2018. A reported 43 people died in an attack in April 2018 against the town of Douma, according to a death toll drafted by several reliable sources which could not be independently verified on the ground.
The use of chemical weapons in Douma and elsewhere "is unacceptable and constitutes a breach of international law", the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Fernando Arias, said in a statement.
The report carried out by the global chemical weapons watchdog has in particular focused on the responsibility of the Syrian government's air force.
According to investigators, at least a Syrian military helicopter dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas on the city of Douma amid the conflict raging in Syria since 2011. For their part, the governments of Syria and Russia, which has backed for years the contested Syrian President Bashar al Assad, have repeatedly stated that the attack was instead organized by Syrians on the ground paid by the United States as part of a so-called western plot to cast Assad's government in a bad light. (ANSAmed).
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said in a report released Friday that there are "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Syrian government was responsible for an attack with chemical weapons against civilians on the outskirts of the capital Damascus in 2018. A reported 43 people died in an attack in April 2018 against the town of Douma, according to a death toll drafted by several reliable sources which could not be independently verified on the ground.
The use of chemical weapons in Douma and elsewhere "is unacceptable and constitutes a breach of international law", the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Fernando Arias, said in a statement.
The report carried out by the global chemical weapons watchdog has in particular focused on the responsibility of the Syrian government's air force.
According to investigators, at least a Syrian military helicopter dropped two cylinders of chlorine gas on the city of Douma amid the conflict raging in Syria since 2011. For their part, the governments of Syria and Russia, which has backed for years the contested Syrian President Bashar al Assad, have repeatedly stated that the attack was instead organized by Syrians on the ground paid by the United States as part of a so-called western plot to cast Assad's government in a bad light. (ANSAmed).
