OPCW Condemns Use of Chlorine Gas in Syria

Press Release

Syrian Coalition

February 05, 2015

The Syrian Coalition welcomes today’s condemnation by the OPCW Executive Council of the use of chlorine gas in Syria. The decision came in response to the latest Fact Finding Mission (FFM) report which found "with a high degree of confidence" that chlorine was used on three villages in northern Syria from April to August last year, killing 13 people.

The FFM's report also said that 32 of the 37 people interviewed "saw or heard the sound of a helicopter over the village at the time of the attack, with barrel bombs containing toxic chemicals,” which clearly points to regime’s culpability since it is the only side that has such deliverance capabilities.

As the world focuses on ISIS’s crimes, vicious as they are, Assad’s forces continue to use a policy of collective punishment against the civilian population in Syria. Despite the UN Security Council banning their use, regime forces continue to use barrel bombs and chlorine gas in populated areas, targeting crowded markets and residential blocks. It is vital that the perpetrators of such heinous crimes against innocent civilians are stopped immediately and that justice takes its course.