Press release
Syrian Opposition Coalition
Department of Media and Communications
April 7, 2024
Today marks the sixth anniversary of the horrendous massacre perpetrated by the Assad regime in the town of Douma in the Damascus suburbs, where toxic chlorine gas was deployed against civilians. This barbaric act resulted in the tragic loss of at least 43 lives and left 550 others injured.
The Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) underscores that the international community’s failure to address the regime’s grave atrocities against civilians has emboldened it to commit further war crimes and crimes against humanity, resorting to the use of internationally prohibited weapons. Shockingly, since the issuance of UN Security Council Resolution 2118 (2013), the regime has deployed chemical weapons a staggering 184 times. The persisting state of impunity continues to imperil the lives of Syrians, who remain victims of the Assad regime’s brutal tactics, aided by political support and military intervention from its allies and numerous local and cross-border militias.
The SOC urgently calls upon the international community, including the United Nations, comprising both the Security Council and the General Assembly, to staunchly oppose the Assad regime’s impunity. This urgency is underscored particularly in the wake of the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) findings from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which unequivocally established the regime’s responsibility for the Douma attack. Furthermore, the SOC urges concerted and effective action towards ensuring accountability and justice for Syrian victims, who have lost faith in the international community’s ability to deliver justice. Delays in implementing concrete measures supporting both accountability and the political process, as outlined in UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254, which garnered international consensus, have been aggravated by the Assad regime’s obstructionism. Consequently, the absence of substantial international pressure to compel positive cooperation from the regime continues to thwart progress in this regard.
