Syria - Chemical Weapons Inspectors Finally Allowed Into Douma

Three weeks after an alleged chemical attack took place in Douma, Syria, a UN team of Chemical Weapons inspectors has finally been allowed to see the site and collect samples.

A team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) collected human samples and other items which will now be shipped to a lab in The Hague, the Netherlands, for further verification as to what was used.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OPCW convoy arrives back in Damascus after getting into Douma today to investigate chemical attack <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Syria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OPCW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OPCW</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y6MmKxbSBy">pic.twitter.com/Y6MmKxbSBy</a></p>&mdash; Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) <a href="https://twitter.com/danriversitv/status/987689147975512064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">21 April 2018</a></blockquote>

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As reported, on 7 April of this year, there was an alleged chemical attack by the Syrian regime on a rebel-held area in Douma, in which an unverified number of people died (estimates ranges lie between 40 and 75) from the effects of either sarin gas or chlorine.

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/22779-Piers-Morgan-Blood-Of-Syrian-Children-Is-On-Obama-s-Conscience

In response, the US, UK, and French army sent some 110 missiles into various chemical production sites in Syria and thus struck a massive blow to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and their work to rid the world of chemical arms<a href="https://t.co/05k0Nu70qy">https://t.co/05k0Nu70qy</a> <a href="https://t.co/bmahtbuS23">pic.twitter.com/bmahtbuS23</a></p>&mdash; AFP news agency (@AFP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AFP/status/987794602789883908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Western officials were quick to criticize Russia, Syria’s backer, for not allowing anyone on the site earlier and claim that all evidence could have been tampered with by now. In turn, Russia blamed the OPCW for taking so long to get to the site itself.

Mr Alastair Hay, professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Leeds, claims that if chemical weapons were indeed used, their traces will still be found: "Nerve agents like sarin can be present in the environment for many weeks after use and particularly if you look near the site where a weapon has exploded."

Related coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/23494-Belgium-3-Companies-Accused-Of-Shipping-Sarin-To-Syria

"Autopsy samples, if available, will provide invaluable evidence and nerve agents can be found in many organs."

Although the Syrian government still denies all involvement, this is the fourth time since the start of the Syrian civil war that the UN and the OPCW have attributed chemical attacks to the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad.

Source:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-douma-chemical-weapons-attack-latest-eastern-ghouta-russia-assad-a8315746.html