The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that it had recorded no fewer than 216 chemical attacks by the Assad regime forces since 2012.
The Network said in its report that 1,461 people were killed in the chemical attacks, including 1,397 civilians, 184 children and 252 women.
According to the report, ISIS used chemical weapons in five occasions in the province of Aleppo killing at least 132 people.
The Network also documented the use of incendiary weapons in at least 149 attacks on populated areas, 19 of which were launched by regime forces, 125 by Russian forces, and five others by the international anti-ISIS coalition in Raqqa province.
The Syrian Civil Defense and human rights organizations have documented several chemical attacks by the regime. The attacks targeted the neighborhood of Bayyada in Homs in December 2013, the town of Khan Sheikoun in Idlib in April 2017, and the town of Douma in rural Damascus in April 2018, among many others.
Reports issued by a joint UN-OPCW committee indicated the regime’s responsibility for several poison gas attacks on cities and towns in Syria over the past few years, in addition to attacks by ISIS.
A British newspaper said that there are still ‘glimmers of hope’ to bring the Assad regime to justice for committing large-scale war crimes against civilians in Syria. It cited the recent lawsuits and arrest warrants issued by European courts for senior Assad regime officials.
In an article it published under the title ‘those responsible for Syria’s agony must be brought to book, starting at the top,’ the Guardian newspaper said that “despite Russia blocking attempts to investigate Assad’s war crimes, there are glimmers of hope.”
The Network concluded its report by calling on the UN Security Council to stop using the veto power against resolutions condemning the regime. It accused the regime of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity as it called for protection of civilians and exerting pressure on Russia and Iran, the regime’s allies. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
