OPCW disregards Syria info about militants use of chemical weapons

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Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bassam Sabbagh said on Tuesday that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) disregarded information about terrorists employing chemical weapons against Syria.

"We have plenty of information given to the OPCW, given to the United Nations, Security Council, and 1540 committee. All this information is basically ignored. Never dealt with," the Ambassador told a briefing. "At least, to my memory, more than 100 times we sent information to the OPCW and to the UN regarding attempts by terrorist armed groups to either use or fabricate the use of chemical weapons."

Sabbagh, together with the Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia who was present to support Syria in refuting the OPCW allegations, said that Syria has asked for investigations into 5 cases in which terrorists of the rebel groups had utilized chemical weapons against Syria.

The OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team came to a conclusion in January and claimed that the fatal chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018 was carried out by the Syrian Air Force.

Russia has long expressed its disapproval of the conduct of OPCW Director General Fernando Arias disagreeing with his conclusions and methods of investigation.

Back in November, the Grayzone website published a series of leaks that expose how senior officials of the OPCW censored this explosive finding in the Syrian city of Douma.

In its investigation, the website stated that "in the early days of the OPCW’s investigation of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, expert toxicologists ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death for more than 40 civilians reported at the scene."

Read more: The Grayzone: OPCW Tampered with Findings of Douma Attack Investigation

In late January, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced its rejection of the report of the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT), regarding allegations of using chlorine in Douma in April 2018.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no specialist can reach the misleading conclusions its authors found,” stressing that they “neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organization, who are known for their experience and knowledge.”

The ministry called on state parties of the prohibition agreement "not to allow the United States and a number of Western countries to dominate their work and role and to politicize their tasks and use them as a tool to achieve their political goals."

Read more: Syria's FM categorically rejects the OPCW report about Douma