191 Syria chemical attacks not investigated: watchdog

By Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA (AA) - A Syrian nonprofit organization on Wednesday urged the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to make strides to investigate 191 chemical attacks by the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said in a report at least 221 chemical attacks carried took place between Dec. 23, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2018 as documented by SNHR.

The Syrian regime carried out 216 chemical attacks, SNHR said, while the Daesh terrorist group conducted five attacks.

The Hague-based international chemical weapons watchdog, OPCW, confirmed 43 attacks, according to the nine-page report. And 191 chemical weapons attacks documented in SNHR’s database have not been investigated by the OPCW.

The report highlighted fundamental challenges facing OPCW in Syria, noting the regime deliberately obstructed its work.

The regime misled investigators repeatedly or obstructed the granting of visas to certain OPCW personnel and deliberately delayed responses to its messages, in addition to other obstacles including hindering access of inspectors to some areas, said the report.