UN Secretary-General Expresses Concern Over ‘Chemical Attacks’ in Syria

The United Nations Secretary-General, while expressing concern about reports of chemical attacks in Syria, has called on the Security Council to take action to counter “such serious crimes”.

The request by António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, was made following his meeting with the head of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Since 2014, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been conducting investigations into more than 70 reports of chemical attacks on Syrian soil during the country’s civil war.

In a statement released by the United Nations on March 21, it stated that “the Secretary-General is concerned about continued allegations of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic”.

The statement added that while the use of chemical weapons is “unjustified and unwarranted,” “failing to respond to it is equally unjustified.”

Mr. Guterres says “such serious crimes should not go unpunished.” He has repeatedly called on the UN Security Council to respond to these attacks “in a unified and determined manner.”

Ahmad Ozoumjou, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, says there are “several” new allegations of the use of chemical equipment and weapons in Eastern Ghouta. Eastern Ghouta, the last area under rebel control near Damascus, has been subjected for weeks to intensive and widespread attacks by Bashar Assad’s forces and their allies. These attacks have been met with international reactions and protests, but have continued.

The US ambassador to the United Nations warned in late February that if the Security Council takes no action on Syria, the United States is “prepared to act if necessary” – as it did a year earlier, attacking one of Syria’s government bases in response to chemical attacks. Around the same time, James Mattis, US Secretary of Defense, also warned the Syrian government not to use chemical weapons in its civil war.

These statements were met with a reaction from Moscow, with the chief of the Russian military’s general staff saying that Russia’s army will respond to any potential American attack on Syria and will target any missiles and weapons involved in such attacks.

The Syrian Human Rights Observatory says that in recent attacks on Eastern Ghouta, chlorine gas has been used in some cases. Ahmad Ozoumjou also says that international experts and inspectors are investigating these allegations, whether by government forces or rebels.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria’s civil war has made headlines repeatedly. Most allegations have been directed at the Syrian central government, though other groups, including ISIS, have also faced similar accusations. The Syrian government says it has never used chemical weapons against its citizens. However, Bashar Assad says he is only willing to allow international investigations into chemical attacks if he “is assured that neutral countries are involved in these investigations.”

Source: Radio Farda