UN probing alleged Syria chemical attack

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA (AA) - The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said they had launched an investigation into an alleged chemical weapons attack on a town in the Syrian province of Idlib on Tuesday.

"Reports suggesting that this was a chemical weapons attack are extremely concerning," the UN said in a statement.

"The Commission is currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this attack including the alleged use of chemical weapons and reports of a subsequent attack on a medical facility where a number of injured persons were receiving treatment," the commission said.

The commission condemned in “strongest terms” the attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun, in Idlib, northern Syria.

"Both the use of chemical weapons, as well as the deliberate targeting of medical facilities, would amount to war crimes and serious violations of human rights law," the commission said.

"It is imperative for perpetrators of such attacks to be identified and held accountable," the commission added.

A local civil defense official earlier told Anadolu Agency that a regime aircraft carried out a chlorine gas attack on the town early Tuesday.

-Recent attacks

Tuesday’s attack came one day after a regime aircraft carried out a similar chlorine gas attack on the town of Al-Habit, Idlib, hurting dozens.

Syrian regime forces are believed to have launched gas attacks on opposition-held areas in recent weeks.

On March 30, 35 civilians were affected by a chlorine gas attack carried out by regime forces in Al-Qaboun near Damascus.

Last year, a UN-appointed investigation panel found that chemical weapons were used by regime forces and opposition fighters in 2014 and 2015. However, no actionable steps were taken.

Chlorine gas is one of several elements and compounds used in devastating chemical attacks, outlawed by international treaties. High level of exposure to the gas can cause suffocation as the chemical injuries in the pulmonary airways result in severe fluid buildup in the lungs, with children and seniors particularly vulnerable.

Since March 2011, the Syrian opposition has demanded an end to more than 44 years of Assad family’s rule and the establishment of a democratic state.

The Syrian regime responded to the protests with military force, pushing the country into a vicious downward spiral of violence, bloody battles and a civil war that is still ongoing between the regime and opposition forces.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, however, puts the death toll from the six-year conflict at more than 470,000 people.