Chemical weapons were used repeatedly in the Syria conflict this year, not only in a well-documented Aug. 21 attack near Damascus but also in four other instances, including two subsequent attacks that targeted government soldiers, U.N. experts concluded in a report released Thursday.
The report, prepared by chemical-weapons specialists and doctors who traveled to Syria to conduct interviews and collect samples amid active fighting, is the most detailed and comprehensive independent assessment of facts and accusations surrounding the use of chemical weapons in the conflict.
The experts, led by Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom, examined seven suspected chemical-weapons attacks and said it lacked information to corroborate the accusations at two locations.
It was the first time the United Nations asserted as fact that chemical weapons had been used on multiple occasions in the fighting between the forces of President Bashar Assad and the insurgents seeking to topple him.
The report also indicated chemical-weapons use after world outrage over the Aug. 21 attack, which killed hundreds of civilians including children.
The inspectors’ limited mandate barred them from identifying whether the government or opposition fighters were responsible for any of the attacks.
Thursday’s report said evidence indicated chemical weapons were probably used in Khan al Assal outside Aleppo, Jobar in Damascus’ eastern suburbs, Saraqueb near Idlib in the northwest, and Ashrafiah Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside. In two cases, it found “signatures of sarin.”
The government and opposition accused each other of using chemical weapons at Khan al Assal and the report said none of the parties in Syria denied their use in the village, seattletimes informs.
