Nidal Shaikhani, director of the Syrian Center for Documenting Chemical Violations, confirmed that documents handed over to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reveal the operational mechanisms of the chemical program left behind by the overthrown regime, including manufacturing, storage, and transportation. He noted that more than 135 chemical attacks in Syria are listed with the Fact-Finding Mechanism and are under follow-up and investigation.
Shaikhani highlighted that the submission of approximately 100,000 documents represents a crucial step toward identifying those responsible for the attacks and advancing the path of transitional justice. He clarified that chemical attacks caused more than 14,000 injuries and 3,234 deaths, adding that the Center has implemented more than 65 projects to document the attacks and collect samples sent to the Organization’s laboratories in The Hague.
Shaikhani pointed out that the attacks began with targeting Khan Al-Asal in October 2012 and ended with the attack on Tell al-Kabineh in the Latakia countryside in 2019. He noted the use of sarin gas in several attacks, including the Eastern Ghouta attack in 2017, while mustard gas was used in attacks attributed to the "ISIS" group in 2015.
He explained that the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM), established by the Security Council in 2015, issued five reports in 2017 indicating that the Syrian warplane was responsible for using chemical weapons. Syria had regained its full rights and privileges in the Organization on July 9 last year, following a decision adopted by the Executive Council by consensus.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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