Jan. 28 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The European Union has accepted the conclusions of the report published on Friday by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) that blames the Syrian Army for an attack with chlorine gas carried out in 2018 in the city of Douma that resulted in 43 deaths. .
Brussels, in a statement sent this Saturday, “welcomes” the publication of the document and condemns, as the report concludes, the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Army.
“The report’s findings further confirm the systematic failure of the Syrian regime to meet its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and UN Security Council resolution 2118 in this regard,” according to a statement. of the EU external action service.
The EU stresses that the professionalism exhibited in the report represents an “important contribution to efforts to end impunity for the use of chemical weapons” in international conflicts.
“The use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere, at any time and under any circumstances is a violation of international law and may constitute the most serious of international crimes: war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the EU.
“Those identified as responsible for these reprehensible acts must be held accountable and will do so”, guarantees Brussels before assuring that “the European Union and its Member States will continue to work at the national and international level to deal with attacks with chemical weapons and other crimes atrocious acts committed by the Syrian regime”.
“The EU reiterates its full support for the OPCW and underlines the complementarity of its work with the United Nations. We have full confidence in the objectivity, impartiality and independence of the Organization’s Technical Secretariat and its Investigation and Identification Team”, it adds. the European bloc.
The OPCW investigators have declared their conclusions, they ensure, from 70 environmental and biomedical samples, the statements of more than 60 witnesses, as well as forensic images, satellite captures, computer models of gas dispersion and trajectory simulations, all verified by independent experts.
According to the assessment presented this Friday, OPCW investigators say that “at least one helicopter from the elite ‘Tiger Forces’ units dropped two yellow cylinders filled with chlorine gas on two residential buildings in an area of Douma inhabited by civilians.” The incident resulted in at least 43 deaths and dozens of people affected.
The results lead the OPCW experts to conclude that “the Syrian Air Forces are responsible for this attack” in what is treated, according to the general director of the OPCW, the Spanish diplomat Fernando Arias, of “a violation of the Law International”. “The world now knows the facts and it is up to the international community to take action on it,” he added.
It should be remembered that the OPCW had already confirmed in 2019 indications of a chemical attack on the town, although at that time it did not point to the Syrian Army as responsible for what happened. The Syrian Foreign Ministry nevertheless denounced this initial document, which it described as a “blatant set of lies”.
