Douma chemical attack

Douma chemical attack
Part of the Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), Siege of Eastern Ghouta, Syrian Civil War
Type	Chemical attack
Location	Douma, Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria 33°34′16″N 36°24′17″E
Date	7 April 2018 06:30 (UTC+03:00)
Executed by	Syrian Arab Army (accused)
Casualties	48–85 killed 500+ injured
Douma Location of Douma within Syria

On 7 April 2018, a chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma reportedly killed at least 70 people. On-site medics said a mixture of chlorine gas and sarin was used in the attack. The attack was attributed to the Syrian Army by rebel forces in Douma, non-governmental aid and medical workers there, and by a number of countries, including the United States, most NATO members, and the European Union. Syria and Russia's defense ministries said the attack did not happen and video evidence for it was staged and directed by British intelligence.

On 14 April 2018, the United States, France and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes against multiple government sites in Syria.

Background

Main articles: Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War, Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), and Siege of Eastern Ghouta

Bashar al-Assad's forces have used chemical weapons many times before - according to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and United Nations investigations. Human Rights Watch has documented 85 chemical weapons attacks in Syria since 2013. People reported incidents of chemical weapons use specifically in Douma in January 2018; Russia vetoed a potential United Nations mission to investigate. The Arms Control Association reported two smaller chlorine gas attacks in Douma on 7 March and 11 March.

Douma had been under rebel control since 18 October 2012, and, with the rest of the Eastern Ghouta region, under siege since April 2013. The Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), code-named Operation Damascus Steel, a military offensive launched by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies on 18 February 2018 to capture the rebel-held territory. The Jaysh al-Islam rebel coalition controlled Douma. By mid-March, rebel territory in Eastern Ghouta had reduced to three pockets, one in the south around Hamouria held by Faylaq al-Rahman; a second in the west around Harasta held by Ahrar al-Sham; as well as Douma in the north held by Jaysh al-Islam. In the second half of March, the other two pockets were secured via evacuation deals between the rebels, Syria, and Russia. On 31 March, the last of the evacuations was conducted and the Syrian army declared victory in Eastern Ghouta, while the rebels that were still holding out in Douma were given an ultimatum to surrender by the end of the day.

Reports

The chemical attack in Douma reportedly happened on 7 April 2018. The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, a humanitarian organization that supervises medical services in the region, attributed seventy deaths to the attack. On-site medics reported chlorine gas and sarin nerve agent caused the deaths. A video from the scene showed dead men, women, and children with foam at their mouths. The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) reported over 500 injured people at Douma "were brought to local medical centers with symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent." SAMS also said a chlorine bomb struck a Douma hospital, killing six people, and that another attack with "mixed agents" affected a building nearby. According to the Syrian opposition groups, witnesses also reported a strong smell of chlorine and said effects appeared stronger than in previous similar attacks. Syrian opposition activists also posted videos of yellow compressed gas cylinders that they said were used during the attack. Based on the symptoms and the speed with which the victims were affected, medical workers and experts suggested either a combination of chlorine with another gas or a nerve agent was used. Several medical, monitoring, and activist groups—including the White Helmets—reported Syrian Army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the city of Douma. The bombs, suspected to be filled with chemical munitions such as chlorine gas and sarin, caused severe convulsions in some residents and suffocated others.

Aftermath

Further information: 2018 bombing of Damascus and Homs

The day after the chemical attack, all rebels controlling Douma agreed to a deal with the government to surrender the area.

In the early hours of 9 April 2018, an airstrike was conducted against Tiyas Military Airbase. Two Israeli F-15I jets reportedly attacked the airfield from Lebanese airspace, firing eight missiles, of which five were intercepted, according to claims by Russia. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, at least 14 people were killed and more were wounded. Al-Masdar News reported seven Iranian soldiers among the dead.

On 10 April, member states proposed competing UN Security Council resolutions to handle the response to the chemical attack. The U.S., France, and UK vetoed a Russian-proposed UN resolution. Russia had also vetoed the U.S.'s proposed resolution to create "a new investigative mechanism to look into chemical weapons attacks in Syria and determine who is responsible."

On 14 April, France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched airstrikes against four Syrian government targets in response to the attack. The airstrikes were claimed to successfully destroy the chemical weapons capabilities of Syria. Nevertheless, according to Pentagon, Bashar al-Assad still retains the ability to launch chemical weapons attacks.

OPCW investigation

On 10 April, the Syrian and Russian governments invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to send a team to investigate the attacks. The investigators arrived to Douma on April 14, however their access to the site was blocked by Russia and Syria.

On 17 April, the OPCW was promised to gain access to the site, but had not entered Douma and was unable to carry out the inspection because a large crowd gathered at one site while their reconnaissance teams came under fire during a reconnaissance to visit the other site of the purported chemical weapons attack. According to OPCW director, “On arrival at site one, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw,” and “at site two, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus.” However, the OPCW statement did not lay blame on any party for the incident. The United States believes the Syrian government is stalling the OPCW to give itself time to remove evidence.

On 19 April, OPCW still was unable to access the sites. According to US State Department spokeswoman, there was "credible information" that "Russian officials are working with the Syrian regime to deny and to delay these inspectors from gaining access to Douma,” and "to sanitize the locations of the suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of chemical weapons use."

OPCW inspectors visited the site and collected samples on April 21. The organization said that it would submit its member states, a report "based on analysis of the sample results, as well other information and materials collected by the team."

Media investigations

CBS journalist Seth Doane also traveled to Douma on 16 April, where a neighbor reported a choking gas that smelled like chlorine. A man took him to the alleged site of the impact and showed where the remains of a missile rested. Eliot Higgins, a citizen journalist and blogger investigating the Syrian civil war, concluded based on geographical, video, and open source evidence that the chlorine gas was dropped by helicopters coming from Dumayr Airbase. Military officials in London, Paris and Washington also insisted the attacks came from Dumayr.

Award-winning journalist Robert Fisk visited Douma and spoke to doctors belonging to the clinic where the footage of the victims was filmed. Fisk describes his encounter with one such doctor who said that the children in the video were not affected by a chemical attack, but by oxygen starvation while dwelling in the trash-filled tunnels of the city. The doctor added that during the bombardment, a large dust storm engulfed the tunnels and the children suffered from hypoxia and oxygen loss. Fisk also added that many people living in Douma do not believe a chemical attack happened.

Reactions

Government

France – On 12 April, French President Emmanuel Macron said he has proof that the Syrian government attacked the town of Douma with chemical weapons and at least used chlorine. The BBC quotes U.S. officials as saying urine and blood samples taken from victims have tested positively for traces of chlorine.

Iran – The Foreign Ministry of Iran spokesman said: "While the Syrian army has the upper hand in the war against armed terrorists, it is not logical for them to use chemical weapons. Such claims and accusations [about chemical weapons use] by the Americans and some Western countries signal a new plot against the government and nation of Syria and is an excuse for military action against them."

On 10 April, U.S. President Donald Trump, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement following joint telephone calls that they had "agreed that the international community needed to respond to uphold the worldwide prohibition on the use of chemical weapons".

Qatar – The Qatar Foreign Ministry condemned the use of chemical weapons, and called for an investigation into the incident and for punishment of those involved.

Russia – On 13 March 2018 the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said the Russian military had "reliable intelligence" that suggested the rebels holding Eastern Ghouta, along with the White Helmets activists, were preparing to stage and film a chemical weapons attack against civilians, which the U.S. government would blame on the Syrian forces and use as a pretext to bomb the government quarter in Damascus. In the event that the lives of Russian servicemen should be threatened by U.S. strikes, Gerasimov said Russia would respond militarily — "against both the missiles and the platforms from which they’re launched". Gerasimov′s statement was interpreted by Nic Robertson of CNN as an indication that the chemical attack in Douma had been planned by Russia in advance as an asymmetric warfare tactic in response to reactions by the West after the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on 8 April denied chemical weapons had been used. A few days later, the Russian military said members of the White Helmets organization filmed a staged attack, and Russian experts who researched the site on 9 April had detected no trace of any chemical weapons. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russia had evidence of the 'United Kingdom's direct involvement' in the organization of what he referred to as 'the provocation in Eastern Ghouta'. On 13 April, the Russian Ministry of Defence said Britain "staged" the attack in order to provoke U.S. airstrikes. On April 16, Aleksandr Shulgin, Russian envoy to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Russia had "irrefutable evidence" that the attack in Douma was staged by UK secret services and “pseudo-humanitarian NGOs” that work under foreign adversaries of the Syrian government.

The Guardian described Russian state media as "pushing" two lines; that they have spoken to witnesses denying the occurrence of any attacks, and that they have found chlorine filled canisters in Douma "used for rebel attacks later blamed on the regime." On 18 April, Russian state TV broadcast aired an interview with Hassan Diab, a boy who the TV program said was featured before in a hospital video taken by the White Helmets. Diab said that "they were filmed being doused in water and given other simulated medical treatment at the hospital." According to The Intercept, the video was fabricated and "filmed not in the boy’s hometown, where a suspected chemical attack took place, but at a Syrian army facility where Russian military advisers were present."

Saudi Arabia – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the use of chemical weapons, and stress the need for a peaceful solution based on the principles of the Geneva Declaration and UN Security Council resolutions.

Syria – The Syrian state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency reported a Foreign Ministry source called allegations of Syria's use of chemical weapons an unconvincing stereotype.

Turkey – A spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the "Syrian regime must give account for the attacks in various regions of the country at different times,” and called upon the international community to address war crimes and crimes against humanity.

United Kingdom – Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said regarding reports on chemical attacks that "these latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond" and that "investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons [are] looking into reports of chemical weapons use in Syria have our full support. Russia must not yet again try to obstruct these investigations". He also condemned the use of chemical weapons in general, adding that "those responsible for the use of chemical weapons have lost all moral integrity and must be held to account."

United States – President Donald Trump condemned the attack on Twitter, heavily criticizing Russia over it, saying "many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL [sic] attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!" Trump canceled his trip to the 8th Summit of the Americas, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place.

On 11 April, via Twitter, President Trump told Russia to "get ready" for "nice and new and 'smart' missiles," adding, "You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" Vasily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States would "bear responsibility" for any "illegal military adventure" they conducted. The following day, Trump appeared to soften his resolve, tweeting he "[n]ever said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!" On 14 April, France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched airstrikes against four Syrian government targets in response to the attack.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis stated the U.S. is still waiting on the OPCW investigation, but that there were "a lot of media and social media indicators that either chlorine or sarin was used" in Douma.

Intergovernment

European Union – In a statement, the EU said "the evidence points towards yet another chemical attack by the regime" and "it is a matter of grave concern that chemical weapons continue to be used, especially on civilians. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons and calls for an immediate response by the international community". It also called for the United Nations Security Council to identify the perpetrators and for Russia and Iran to influence Assad against launching such attacks.

United Nations – On 10 April 2018, the United Nations Security Council failed to adopt three competing resolutions on an inquiry into the chemical attack, with Russia and the United States clashing over the issue and exchanging military threats.

The World Health Organization released a statement, with a reference to outside medical sources, that 43 people died while suffering "symptoms consistent with exposure to highly toxic chemicals."

See also

• List of massacres during the Syrian Civil War
• List of Syrian Civil War barrel bomb attacks
• Syria chemical weapons program