The Syrian Coalition called on the international community to take action to put an end to the use of chemical weapons in Syria and hold those responsible accountable as a meeting bringing together 30 countries began in Paris today to establish a new partnership against the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Russia killed an investigation by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) – known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) after it had vetoed two UN Security Council resolutions preventing the renewal of the mandate for the mission.
The Syrian Civil Defense Corps, also known as the White Helmets, said that Assad regime forces targeted populated areas in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta with rockets loaded with poison chlorine gas on Monday. The attack caused dozens of asphyxiation cases among civilians in the district of Douma, the Civil Defense said, adding that most of the injured were women and children.
The Syrian Coalition said that the “repeated failures over the past years, coupled with the negative role of most parties, are to blame for the current situation on the ground in Syria. It called upon the United Nations and active players exert real pressure corresponding with the situation on the ground to prevent further bloody escalation.
In a press release issued on Monday, the Coalition said: “such violations are no longer only a challenge to the international community and Security Council resolutions, but they have become more like an insult to those parties which are unable to carry out their duties or shoulder their responsibilities.”
The Coalition condemned the “repeated, systematic, deliberate use of chlorine gas by regime forces as it warns of the consequences of remaining silent about these attacks. Remaining silent risks encourage the Assad regime to escalate these attacks.”
The Coalition went on to say that “the Assad regime and its supporters will not change their criminal behavior, nor will they stop violating international resolutions through the use of chemical weapons and the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity unless they pay heavily for their actions.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
