An investigative team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has concluded that there are «reasonable grounds» to accuse the Syrian Air Force of committing a chemical weapons attack in April 2018 on the Syrian town of Duma that killed more than 40 people; the first time it has formally pointed to the Syrian Army as responsible for this bombing.
According to the assessment presented this Friday, OPCW investigators claim that «at least one helicopter of the elite units ‘Tiger Forces’ dropped two yellow cylinders with chlorine gas on two residential buildings in an area of Duma inhabited by civilians». The incident resulted in at least 43 deaths and dozens of people affected.
The investigators have drawn their conclusions, they say, from 70 environmental and biomedical samples, the statements of more than 60 witnesses, as well as forensic images, satellite imagery, computer models of gas dispersion and trajectory simulations, all verified by independent experts.
The results lead the OPCW experts to conclude that «the Syrian Air Forces are responsible for this attack» in what is, according to OPCW Director General, Spanish diplomat Fernando Arias, «a violation of international law.» «The world now knows the facts and it is up to the international community to take action,» he added.
It should be recalled that the OPCW had already confirmed in 2019 indications of a chemical attack on the locality, although at that time it did not point to the Syrian Army as responsible for the attack. In any case, the Syrian Foreign Ministry denounced the initial document, which it described as a «set of blatant lies».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
