Syria hits out at UN report blaming it for chemical attack; says western countries putting political pressure

NewsBharati    28-Oct-2017
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Damascus, October 28: Syria on Friday rejected all the claims and reports of United Nations investigators that blamed it for a chemical attack on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in April in which at least 80 civilians were killed while 500 others were injured. The Syrian government said the United States and other Western countries "to place more political pressure".

 

Quoting an official in Syria’s foreign ministry, State news agency SANA reported that Damascus rejects in form and substance what was included in the report of the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM).

Further quoting the Syria’s foreign ministry official, State media also reported that the report had been compiled under instructions from the United States and other Western countries to place more political pressure on Syria.

Earlier, on Thursday, the United Nations (UN) investigators who traveled to an airbase in Syria on October 12 of this year to investigate the recent sarin gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun revealed that the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are responsible for this incident.

Three United Nations diplomat confirmed the report's finding. According to the report, The probe panel is confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhun on 4 April 2017. As soon as the UN investigators revealed this fact, the United States immediately acted tough and renewed its warning quoting that the Syrian president has no role in the country’s future.

Acting on it immediately, United States ambassador to the United Nations Niki Haley said that this report is the fourth instance of confirmed chemical weapons use by the Assad regime, though the actual number is much higher.

BACKGROUND:

On 4th April 2017, the Khan Shaykhun sarin chemical attack took place in which 80 civilians were killed while 500 others were injured. However, the United States later launched a missile attack on Shayrat in April after concluding that Syrian aircraft loaded with sarin gas, had departed from that airfield to attack Khan Sheikhoun.

Following to the allegations made by the United States, United Nations launched the probe in Khan Shaykhun sarin chemical attack and send its team comprises of a joint UN-OPCW panel known as JIM. The joint investigation of the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was set up in 2015 by the Security Council to determine who is behind chemical weapons use in Syria. The JIM has already determined that Syrian regime forces were responsible for chlorine attacks on three villages in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State militants used mustard gas in 2015.

Later, on Tuesday this week, United Nation was set to vote on whether to extend an international investigation of chemical weapons attacks in Syria but Russia vetoed it by saying the group is biased against the Assad government.

The utilization of chemical weapons was common in Middle East countries to combat terrorists, anti-national elements, political rivalries, political wars etc. is a very common phenomenon in Syria. Seeing the dangerous effects, the international community came forward to protect humanity and therefore banned the use of chemical weapons. However, it is unfortunate that still chemical weapons are used during the war, proxy war etc in Syria.