Alleged Chemical Attacks in Syria have Ignited an International Debate

Alleged chemical attacks from the Assad government left 70 dead in the Syrian city of Douma on the night of Apr. 7. Pro-government forces had bombarded the city of Douma for days, hoping to force out rebel groups still situated in the city. Clinics in the area soon saw hundreds of victims many with symptoms consistent with a chemical attack. 500 citizens had symptoms that were consistent with the attack, such as foaming mouths and burned eyes, according to the New York Times.

“You imagine yourself on Judgement Day, and there is death all around you,” Mohammed al Hanash, a 25 year old computer science student, told the Times.

The day after the attacks, thousands of rebel fighters agreed to hand Douma back over to government control and be bused to territory outside of the government’s control.

World leaders, including United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have condemned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected chemical attacked. The US, France, and UK established a joint missile strike on three chemical weapons plants, which President Trump deemed a “a perfectly executed strike.”

However, the Pentagon stated on Apr. 14 that enough facilities remain to allow Assad to continue attacks, if he chooses. Moreover, the Western allies’ strike has not concluded without retaliation. Syrian officials claimed to have intercepted “several” missiles, resulting in the wounding of three civilians. Additionally, the Russian Foreign Ministry have alleged that strikes had also hit the Syrian capital.

The issue of chemical attacks has also created a rift in the United Nations. The intergovernmental organization has not determined a responsible party for the attack. Despite calls from Secretary-General António Guterres for “unity”, the body has failed to adopt three drafts introduced to investigate the use of chemical weapons in the nation. United States Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, accused Russia of covering up for the Assad government; meanwhile Russia failed to receive the necessary votes to condemn the western strike on Syrian facilities.

The Syrian government continues to deny the usage of chemical weapons and has accused rebel groups of fabricating the story to garner international support. Russia, at the Organisation for the Prohibition for Chemical Weapons (OPCW), produced several witnesses discrediting the alleged chemical attacks in Syria. The conference has been criticized by the French ambassador to the Netherlands Pierre Ménat as an “obscene masquerade.”

Russia has rejected claims that the Syrian government was responsible for previous attacks including a 2017 UN report indicting the government as the perpetrator of at least 27 chemical attacks on their own citizens. The United Nations delegation from Russia dismissed the findings as “mythical or invented.”

Two weeks after the suspected attack, a team from the OPCW was finally permitted to enter Syria and begin collecting samples and testing, after being delayed by Russian officials. The US State Department has maintained that the symptoms seen in Douma are consistent with a nerve agent.