ANKARA
Chemical attacks by the Syrian regime have killed scores of civilians since conflict erupted in 2011. While the regime was held accountable by international organizations, justice has yet to be served.
According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency, the Assad regime has used chemical weapons 216 times since the conflict began.
The first large-scale chemical attack took place in the East Ghouta district of capital Damascus on Aug. 21, 2013, where over 1,400 civilians were killed, drawing international outrage.
Although then U.S. President Barack Obama had earlier said chemical weapons use was a "red line" for Washington, both the U.S. and Russia nevertheless opted for an alternative solution.
The issue was handed over to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which called on the regime to destroy its stockpiles of chemical arms. On Aug. 19, 2014, the OPCW announced that the process had concluded.
However, local sources told Anadolu Agency at the time that the regime had continued to use toxic chemical gasses after the OPCW’s appeal.
A massacre in the northwestern city of Idlib’s Khan Sheikhoun district on April 4, 2017 indicated that the allegations had been correct.
That chemical attack killed over 100 civilians, including dozens of children, and left over 500 people injured. The massacre appeared to suggest that the Assad regime possessed a larger chemical arsenal than previously thought.
The following day, an Anadolu Agency team visited Khan Sheikhoun, where it found no evidence of military targets.
On April 7, the U.S. fired a missile salvo at Syria’s Shayrat Airbase, from which the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun had been staged.
After examining blood and urine samples taken from victims, the OPCW announced on Apr. 19 that it had detected traces of sarin gas.
In June of 2017, Anadolu Agency submitted a report containing witnesses’ testimony to the OPCW, the UN, the International Criminal Court, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
Four months later, an OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) formally accused the Assad regime of having carried out the massacre, presenting its report to the UN Security Council on Oct. 27.
But in November, Russia vetoed a draft UNSC resolution calling for an extension of the JIM’s mandate.
Following the Khan Sheikhoun incident, the Assad regime carried out at least 14 more chemical attacks, with an April 7, 2018 attack on the Douma district leaving 78 civilians dead.
The OPCW again confirmed the regime's use of chemical weapons on March 1 of this year. It was also authorized to investigate the source of the Assad regime’s chemical stockpile.
Meanwhile, Khan Sheikhoun, which is currently held by anti-regime opposition groups, remains the target of frequent attack by the regime and its allies.
*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas
