Syria chemical attack claims prompt calls for action
Pressure to act on the Syrian crisis is growing in the wake of the alleged chemical attack, as Frank Gardner reports
The
UK, France and Turkey are leading calls for a tough international
response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria on Wednesday in
which activists said hundreds were killed.
The UK is calling for UN weapons inspectors already in Syria to be granted access as a matter of urgency. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that if proven, the attacks would merit a "reaction of force".
However, there is no sign that the UN team will be allowed to investigate.
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The chances of the UN chemical weapons inspectors in Syria
accessing the true site of Wednesday's alleged chemical attack in time
to make a clear judgement on responsibility are slim.
It took months to negotiate permission for them to visit other sites around the country and the Syrian government, backed by Russia, is resisting calls to give them access to the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta where this apparent atrocity took place. Part of the reason is the area is contested between government forces and rebels and is therefore unsafe.
If an agent such as sarin has been used, the UN team would need to get to the site within days before traces become so faint as to be inconclusive. And if, as the opposition claims, it was a government attack, then a delay of days or weeks would give it enough time for forensic evidence to become controversial and for evidence of munitions used to be removed. The Syrian government insists it was the rebels who carried out the attack.
Analysis
It took months to negotiate permission for them to visit other sites around the country and the Syrian government, backed by Russia, is resisting calls to give them access to the eastern Damascus suburb of Ghouta where this apparent atrocity took place. Part of the reason is the area is contested between government forces and rebels and is therefore unsafe.
If an agent such as sarin has been used, the UN team would need to get to the site within days before traces become so faint as to be inconclusive. And if, as the opposition claims, it was a government attack, then a delay of days or weeks would give it enough time for forensic evidence to become controversial and for evidence of munitions used to be removed. The Syrian government insists it was the rebels who carried out the attack.
The team only has a mandate to visit three sites agreed between the UN and the Syrian government.
"The UK along with 36 other countries has written to the
secretary general formally referring this incident to the UN and calling
for the UN team to be granted the necessary access to enable their
investigation into these latest allegations as a matter of urgency," the
British Foreign Office said in a statement. "We believe a political solution is the best way to end the bloodshed," said the statement, but added that Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague "have said many times we cannot rule out any option ... that might save innocent lives in Syria".
Mr Fabius told the French BFM TV channel that if the attack was confirmed, "it's right at the moment when the inspectors are in place," adding that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be mocking the international community.
Mr Fabius did not elaborate on what "force" would mean but did rule out the use of troops to intervene in Syria.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also stressed the need for action.
"All red lines have been crossed but still the UN Security Council has not even been able to take a decision," Mr Davutoglu said.
The UN Security Council met on Wednesday for an emergency session after news of the attacks emerged. UN officials said it was a "serious escalation" and that clarity was needed over the attacks.
UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said any investigation would require the consent of the Syrian government and was dependent on the security situation.
Some 35 member states called for the UN team already in Syria to be dispatched immediately to the scene.
However, correspondents say the investigators are unlikely to be allowed access.The inspectors arrived in Damascus on Sunday with a mandate to investigate three locations including the northern town of Khan al-Assal, where some 26 people were killed in March.
China and Russia - which have repeatedly backed the Syrian government since the crisis began - blocked a stronger Security Council press statement supported by the 35 states, correspondents report.
The US has expressed its "deep concern" over the latest claims and formally requested the UN to "urgently investigate".
Lord Malloch Brown said Assad didn't believe there would be a response to chemical attacks
But the Russian foreign ministry noted that the reports had emerged just as the UN chemical weapons inspection team had arrived in Syria, saying that "this makes us think that we are once again dealing with a premeditated provocation".
Disturbing footage Opposition activists said that more than 1,000 people were killed after government forces launched rockets with toxic agents into the Damascus suburbs in the Ghouta region early on Wednesday.
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Chemical weapons claims
- Khan al-Assal, 19 March 2013 - Syrian state media accuse rebels of killing 31 people with rockets containing "chemical materials". Rebels blame the army for the attack.
- Al-Otaybeh, 19 March 2013 - Opposition activists allege an attack in which six people are reported dead, apparently in reprisal for gains made by rebel forces.
- Adra, 24 March 2013 - The LCC activist network say two people are killed in an attack.
- Sheikh Maqsoud, Aleppo, 13 April 2013 - At least three people are killed in an attack; internet footage of the victims shows symptoms consistent with exposure to nerve gas.
- Saraqeb, 29 April 2013 - Eyewitnesses say canisters containing a poisonous gas are dropped from a helicopter above the town. Eight people are injured, one of whom later dies.
- Ghouta, 21 August 2013 - By far the most serious alleged incident, with hundreds reported dead in attacks on the outskirts of Damascus
The BBC has been unable to independently confirm the death toll.
The Syrian government has denied the allegations, describing
them as "illogical and fabricated". The Syrian army said the opposition
made up the claims to divert attention from the huge losses its forces
had suffered recently. Activists said the attack took place as part of heavy government bombardment in the region surrounding Damascus, with government forces trying to drive out rebel forces. The areas said to have been affected included Irbin, Duma and Muadhamiya.
Footage uploaded to the internet shows dozens of bodies with no visible signs of injuries, including small children, laid out on the floor of a clinic. Other videos show people being treated in makeshift hospitals, with victims, including many children, having convulsions.
While it is not clear how many died in the bombardment of the sites and how many deaths were due to any exposure to toxic substances, experts say it would be almost impossible to fake so many dead and injured including children and babies.
Both the rebels and government forces have accused each other of using chemical weapons throughout the 28-month conflict.
In July 2012, the Syrian government implicitly admitted what had long been suspected - that Syria had stocks of chemical weapons.
Experts believe the country has large undeclared stockpiles of mustard gas and sarin nerve agent.
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