UN final report confirms chemical weapons'use in Syria

The Head of the UN Mission probing alleged use of chemical weapons (CW) in Syria, Ake Sellstrom, concluded in a long-awaited final report that such weapons were indeed used against civilians and soldiers alike in most suspected sites in the country. "The United Nations Mission concludes that chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic," Sellstrom said in the report which he handed, late on Thursday, to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who in turn, forwarded it to the Security Council for examination. The 82-page report also indicated that the Mission "remains deeply concerned" that the use of the banned weapons "has added yet another dimension to the continued suffering of the Syrian people." Reporting on its findings after conducting investigations in seven sites, the ission concluded that such weapons were indeed used in two sites, likely in three, and never in the remaining two because of lack of evidence. In all the suspected sites, the Mission did not specify which party might have used the weapons because it was not part of its mandate. The Government and the opposition blame each other for the CW use during the nearly three years of civil war which claimed some 120,000 people. Regarding the first site - Al-Ghouta - the Mission reiterated its previous findings last September that it had "collected clear and convincing evidence that chemical weapons were used also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale" in that area on August 21 of this year. Western powers blamed Damascus for it. It noted that "impacted and exploded surface-to-surface rockets, capable to carry a chemical payload, were found to contain Sarin," adding that "close to the rocket impact sites, in the area where patients were affected, the environment was found to be contaminated by Sarin." It also indicated that a number of survivors were "clearly diagnosed as intoxicated by an organophosphorous compound, and their blood and urine samples were found "positive for Sarin and Sarin signatures." The incident in Al-Ghouta prompted the US to threaten Syria with a military strike. Damascus responded quickly admitting it possessed such weapons. It subsequently joined the Chemical Weapons Convention and opened its doors to an OPCW-UN Joint Mission to oversee the elimination of all its CW by mid-2014. Regarding the second site - Khan Al Asal - which Damascus blamed the opposition for using CW against its soldiers and civilians on March 19, the Mission said it collected "credible information that corroborates the allegations". However, it added, the release of chemical weapons at the alleged site "could not be independently verified in the absence of primary information on delivery systems and of environmental and biomedical samples collected and analysed under the chain of custody." It noted that interviews with secondary exposed survivors in that site "confirm symptoms of an organophosphorous intoxication." It also noted that none of the warring parties in Syria denied the use of CW in Khan Al Asal, adding that the evaluation of the information provided by the Syrian Government as well as by the French, Russian, British and US Governments "indicated that chemical weapons were used in Khan Al Asal." The Mission said it collected evidence about the "probable" use of CW "on a small scale" against civilians in Jobar on August 24, Saraqueb on April 29, and against soldiers in Ashrafiah Sahnaya on August 25. It explained that "in the absence of primary information on the delivery system(s) and environmental samples collected and analysed under the chain of custody, the United Nations Mission could not establish the link between the victims, the alleged events and the alleged sites." As to the remaining two sites - Bahhariyeh on August 22, and Sheik Maqsood on April 13 - The Mission said that "in the absence of any positive blood samples," it "cannot corroborate the allegation that chemical weapons were used there. Ban is scheduled to brief the General Assembly late Friday today on the report and the UN Official on Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, Sellstrom and the team leaders, Scott Cairns from the Organisation for the Prohibition of CW (OPCW) and Maurizio Barbeschi from the World Health Organisation (WHO), will hold a press conference thereafter. Ban will brief the Security Council on Monday. Upon receiving the report, Ban commended the team for its "important and courageous work. They have carried out their tasks with the highest degree of professionalism, and did so in the face of many dangers." "The use of chemical weapons is a grave violation of international law and an affront to our shared humanity. We need to remain vigilant to ensure that these awful weapons are eliminated, not only in Syria, but everywhere," he warned.