The head of the international chemical weapons watchdog has told the United Nations Security Council that Bashar al-Assad’s government has so far used chemical weapons 17 times in the ongoing civil war in Syria.
The watchdog described as ‘a disturbing reality’ Syria’s lack of transparency about its chemical weapons stockpile in the eight years after it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the use of chemical weapons in warfare.
Investigators criticised the Syrian government for a lack of cooperation, saying Damascus ignored their communications and refused to issue visas to investigators.
In November 2020, a French resolution led to Syria’s suspension from the chemical weapons watchdog, the first such sanction by the body.
Russia criticised the investigation, saying that it had used ‘biased sources’ in coming to its conclusions.
[Image: Carabo Spain from Pixabay]