UNITED NATIONS - U.N. inspectors have confirmed that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict, definitely in a widely publicized Aug. 21 attack near Damascus and probably in four other locations between March and late August.
The report by U.N. chemical-weapons experts led by Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom did not determine whether the government or opposition was responsible for the attacks.
Sellstrom issued an initial report Sept. 16 that concluded that evidence collected in the Ghouta area of Damascus after an Aug. 21 attack provided “clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used.” Graphic video footage showed dozens of people gasping for air and bodies lined up.
Thursday’s report said evidence indicated that chemical weapons were probably used in Khan al Assal outside Aleppo, Jobar in Damascus’ eastern suburbs, Saraqueb near Idlib in the northwest, and Ashrafiah Sahnaya in the Damascus countryside. In two cases, it found “signatures of Sarin.”
The inspectors were unable to confirm chemical-weapons use at the sites, however, because of a lack of scientific evidence or problems with the evidence’s chain of custody, the report said.
The government and opposition accused each other of using chemical weapons at Khan al Assal, and the report said none of the parties in Syria denied their use in the village. The allegations of chemical-weapons use atJobar and Ashrafiah Sahnaya were made by the Syrian government, while Britain and France raised the allegations about Saraqueb.
Sellstrom presented the report to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in his office at U.N. headquarters, and it was then beingsent to members of the U.N. Security Council. Ban said he would address the 193-member General Assembly today and the council Monday about the report’s findings.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Syria’s main Western-backed rebel group said Thursday that a U.S.-British decision to suspend nonlethal aid to opposition fighters in northern Syria was made impulsively and in haste, and said he hoped it would soon be reversed.
The decision was made after opposition fighters from conservative Islamic rebel brigades seized warehouses containing U.S. military gear that was intended for the mainWestern-backed moderate rebel group, the Free Syrian Army, which Washington and its European allies have tried to mold into an effective partner inside Syria.
“We believe it was a hasty decision, and we are in contact with our British and American friends … to reconsider this decision,” said Free Syrian Army spokesman Loay al-Mikdad.
The warehouses belonged to the Free Syrian Army’s Supreme Military Council led by Gen. Salim Idris, a secular-minded, Western-backed moderate. Idris could not be immediately reached for comment.
Al-Mikdad said Idris was at the Turkish-Syrian border area holding meetings with rebel commanders to work out what had happened.
He added that the suspension of aid will have a negative effect on Syria civilians and not only the Free Syrian Army.
U.S. and British officials said Wednesday that humanitarian aid such as food and blankets would not be affected by the suspension.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the U.S. will continue to support the moderate opposition in Syria, but nonlethal aid will be suspended until the U.S. can determine what transpired last week at the Supreme Military Council warehouses near the Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey.
What is known is that fighters from the Islamic Front, a new alliance of six of the most powerful Islamic rebel groups in Syria, gained control of the base last Friday.
Capt. Islam Alloush, a military spokesman for the Islamic Front, denied that fighters from the group had forcefully taken over the Supreme Military Council warehouses. He said fighters from the Front had received a call from Idris’ office asking for assistance after Free Syrian Army fighters were attacked by unknown gunmen.
When the Front fighters reached the area, they found the warehouses “mostly empty” and abandoned by the guards and officers of the Supreme Military Council, he said.
Al-Mikdad denied that the Islamic Front, which includes former Free Syrian Army brigades, had seized any sophisticated weapons from the warehouses.
A senior adviser to the Supreme Military Council confirmed that sequence of events, saying there were 200 Free Syrian Army fighters at the checkpoint protecting the headquarters when it was stormed, but not by the Islamic Front.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, he said the Islamic Front later captured it and secured it.
Information for this article was contributed by Zeina Karam, Lolita C. Baldor, Desmond Butler and Cara Anna of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 12/13/2013