OPCW Fact-Finding Mission concludes investigation on reported allegations in Qalib al-Thawr and al-Balil, Syria
Report concludes that information obtained and analysed ‘not sufficient to provide reasonable grounds’ toxic chemicals used as a weapon in two 2017 incidents reported to OPCW by Government of Syria.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in Syria concluded that the information obtained and analysed is not sufficient to provide reasonable grounds to determine that toxic chemicals were used as a weapon in the reported incidents that occurred on 9 August 2017 in Qalib al-Thawr and 8 November 2017 al-Balil, Hama Governorate, the Syrian Arab Republic.
Incidents Reported by the Syrian Arab Republic
- On 21 September 2017, the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic informed the OPCW Technical Secretariat about an incident that occurred near the village of Qalib al-Thawr in the eastern countryside of al-Salamiyah in the Hama Governorate on 9 August 2017. The Syrian Arab Republic reported that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), launched AGS-type munitions containing unknown toxic gases, causing several Syrian Arab Army (SAA) soldiers to exhibit symptoms including suffocation, fainting, and vomiting.
- On 24 November 2017, the Syrian Arab Republic reported to the Secretariat an attack with mortars containing “poisonous” gases targeting the SAA in al-Balil, which is in the surroundings of Souran in the Governorate of Hama, on 8 November 2017.
OPCW Fact-Finding Mission Conclusions
The FFM obtained information regarding the two reported incidents from diverse sources, including interviews with witnesses, visit to locations of interest relevant to the incidents, medical records, and documents and correspondence exchanged with the Syrian Arab Republic.
The FFM pursued further information from all available sources. In doing so, it faced challenges in corroborating the information gathered regarding the reported incidents. Furthermore, given several identified gaps, such as contradictions in reports and lack of accurate information, the FFM cannot provide a toxicological assessment of the reported exposure.
The information obtained and analysed as a whole is not sufficient to provide reasonable grounds for the FFM to determine that toxic chemicals were used as a weapon in the reported incidents that occurred on 9 August 2017 in Qalib al-Thawr and on 8 November 2017 al-Balil, Hama Governorate, the Syrian Arab Republic.
The FFM report was shared with all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and is to be transmitted, per standard practice, to the United Nations Security Council through the UN Secretary-General.
How to resolve AdBlock issue?