UN probe documents use of chemical weapons

Despite reduced violence in some places in Syria, warring parties continued to perpetrate unthinkable crimes against civilians, including the use of chemical weapons by Government forces, a group of United Nations investigators said as they released a new report.

"It underscores once more how Syrian men, women, and children throughout the country remain the primary victims of violence perpetrated by the pro-Government forces, anti-Government armed groups, terrorist organisations and their affiliates," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a press conference in Geneva, launching the report.

In its fourteenth report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, covering the period between March and July this year, the commission noted that the Syrian air force used sarin in opposition-held Khan Shaykhun on 4th April, killing over 80 people, most of whom were women and children.

A press release issued by the commission noted that such attacks constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law and the Convention on Chemical Weapons, which Syria ratified in 2013 following a previous sarin attack.

"Reporting on such heinous crimes and violations is the core of our work," said the Commission Chair, adding that the panel has a duty to attribute responsibility accordingly, regardless of the perpetrator.

Source: Wam