UN confirms chemical weapons used in Syria came from army

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syria chemical weaponsChemical weapons used in two incidents in Syria last year appear to come from the stockpiles of the Syrian military, United Nations human rights investigators said on Wednesday in a report that went beyond previous findings.

The team of independent experts, led by Brazilian Paulo Pinheiro, said that so far they had confirmed the deadly nerve agent sarin was used in three incidents: the Damascus suburb of al-Ghouta on Aug. 21, in Khan al-Assal near Aleppo in March 2013 and in Saraqeb near the northern town of Idlib last April.

The first two attacks bore “the same unique hallmarks”, according to the team of some two dozen investigators who include a military advisor.

“The evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used on 21 August indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military, as well as the expertise and equipment necessary to manipulate safely large amount of chemical agents,” the U.N. investigators said in the report.

“Concerning the incident in Khan al-Assal on 19 March, the chemical agents used in that attack bore the same unique hallmarks as those used in al-Ghouta,” it said.

Pinheiro said his team was investigating up to 20 incidents where chemical weapons were used.

Chief United Nations investigator Ake Sellstrom, who led a team of inspectors to Syria, reported in December that chemical weapons were likely used in five out of seven attacks they had examined, but did not assign blame.

Sellstrom, without categorically saying which side was to blame, then said in January that it was “difficult to see” how the opposition could have weaponised the toxins used.

The Syrian government and the opposition have accused each other of using chemical weapons, banned under international law, and both have denied it.

President Bashar al-Assad agreed to destroy his chemical weapons following global outrage over the sarin gas attack at Ghouta in August, the world’s deadlist chemical attack in 25 years. It drew a U.S. threat of military strikes that was averted after Assad pledged to give up his chemical arms.

SPECIALISED EXPERTISE

Pinheiro said on Thursday his investigation had relied on the findings of the Sellstrom mission, going further.

“But we had made other investigations in terms of interviews of experts, interviews with functionaries involved,” Pinheiro told a news conference.

His team interviewed a broad array of people including doctors, victims, journalists and defectors.

The task was compounded by the fact that Syria has never allowed the U.N. human rights investigators into the country.

“We conducted our own investigation including specialised expertise and of course we have been in close contact with the members of this Sellstrom mission,” Pinheiro said.

It was not able to establish a verifiable casualty figure from the attacks, he said, adding: “What we can say is that at least several hundred people were affected”.

Syria has shipped out about a third of its chemical weapons stockpile, including mustard gas, for destruction abroad, the global chemical arms watchdog said on Tuesday.

Reuters

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77 responses to “UN confirms chemical weapons used in Syria came from army”

  1. 5th ass Avatar

    And this is new news? confirming chemical weapons used in Syria came from army- it is too late too late- it is sad that many people continue to die in this war! After three years killing, destruction , exodus of refugees Bashar al-Assaid is preparing to be re-elected. WILL BE HUNG BY HIS BALLS SOON! who is bigger him or Saddam Hussein ?

    1. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      I was about to say: what a surprise finding
      🙂
      thanks UN for confirming what only the self-blinded and the falsifiers of history still and will always deny.

      1. The real lebanese Avatar
        The real lebanese

        The Israelis and Saudis framed them. 😉

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          HRW: “You Can Still See Their Blood”. Executions, Indiscriminate Shootings, and Hostage Taking by Opposition Forces in Latakia Countryside.

          “August 4, 2013, on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday which marks the end of Ramadan, fighters from several different armed opposition groups launched a large scale offensive in Latakia countryside. Between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., the opposition fighters attacked and overran the government army positions guarding the area and in the following hours entered into and occupied more than 10 Alawite villages. The government launched an offensive to retake the area on August 5 ultimately regaining full control on August 18.”

          https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/10/10/you-can-still-see-their-blood/executions-indiscriminate-shootings-and-hostage

          1. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            It happens. Its war.

          2. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            Yes ..i see..you call that war? Foreign Jihadi from 80 different countries entering like in train station…the question is CNN dishonest wicked news today; http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/opinion/ghitis-syria-killing-children/

            Funny, i got here because of poster Esther Sch, i didn’t know it was a one year old thread..coincidence.
            That OBarabie stalking me here..:))

          3. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            I don’t happen to know a war that has happened without massacres. Do you?

            Taldou is a Sunni town, and the SAA(and Shabiha) had recently acquired it when the massacre occurred. Are you telling me the rebels were hiding in the town to commit the massacre?

          4. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            I don’t want to be racist.. first you read the article, Idris met with Al Nusra “creatures” August 4, to coordinate the massacres of civilians in their homes, women and girls were taken as sex slaves, elderly and disabled an blind shot dead in their bed etc..that’s not war it’s sectarianism barbarity. Houla are in different region of Syria, they have darker skin, the kidnapped children and babies are of whiter skin (with no parents mourning). ..
            One comment: “Syria FSA General Idris was in Latakia to supervise the slaughter of Alawi civilians and the kidnapping of the children later gassed by the “rebels” in East Ghouta”

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yL8E75d5D0

          5. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            You didn’t provide a link to an article. Only a video.

          6. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            I did. when you write the link the video comes up, if i white it again it will double.. click on You tube button on right

          7. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            In the video he doesn’t say anything about any atrocities his people made. I don’t understand how he is “gloating” over something he doesn’t even mention.

          8. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            The video was before not after..taped on 12 August added on on YouTub on 23.

            Idris was in Latakiah to coordinate with 4 Islamic groups (mentionned in HRW)..Read IT.

            Kidnapped women & children video and German Islamic “Emir” August 13.
            http://beforeitsnews.com/global-unrest/2013/08/women-and-children-kidnapped-in-syria-were-killed-in-the-syrian-chemical-attack-2456262.html

            The Latakiah missing.
            https://thelemniscat.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/some-of-the-latakia-missing-via-prosyriana/

          9. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            Same thing as above and with no translation(s)! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yL8E75d5D0

          10. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/10/10/you-can-still-see-their-blood/executions-indiscriminate-shootings-and-hostage

            “A doctor working in the National Hospital in Latakia who was receiving the dead and wounded from Latakia countryside told Human Rights Watch that they had received 205 corpses of civilians killed during the August 4-August 18 operation. The doctor showed Human Rights Watch a medical report the hospital prepared on August 26 stating that the, “[c ]cause of death in several of them [the bodies] was multiple gunshot wounds all over the bodies, in addition to stab wounds made with a sharp instrument, given the decapitation observed in most bodies…Some corpses were found in a state of complete charring, and others had their feet tied…” The medical report reflected that the amount of decay the corpses received by the hospital after opposition forces left the area exhibited was consistent with having been killed around August 4.
            An opposition activist who was present in the affected villages during the operation told Human Rights Watch on the night of August 4 that on that day there were “160 or 200 Alawite dead.”

          11. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            HRW. “In a number of cases, on August 4 opposition forces killed adult male villagers and held their female relatives and children hostage. According to opposition sources, they are still holding over 200 civilian hostages at this writing. Several residents from Latakia countryside told Human Rights Watch that they saw their relatives in the background of a video published on YouTube on September 7 in which civilians from the area being held hostage by Abu Suhaib, the Libyan local leader of Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar, are shown”.

            Syria: Al Jazeera Missed Clip from Latakkia
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp4glAZ9_xgSyria

          12. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Fair treatment of prisoners … but still, prisoners. And they were non-combatants.
            Whether ‘Rescued’, or not, is still to be determined.

          13. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            It’s a German sharia Emir..lying..they were not rescued they were kidnapped.
            They were never seen since
            The Father he refers to, that killed his sons, was like the Kurdish woman who sacrificed herself before she fell to ISIS.

          14. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            Horrific! Over 4 years of war in Syria with foreign fighters from 80 countries, more and more rebels are being trained, and more and more weapons arrive.

            I am sure that the government forces have done their share of atrocities, but imagine what’s at stake for a people who have seen the aftermath of “freedom and democracy” in Afghanistan, Irac, Lybia…
            May the flow of guns stop, may there be an end to that war, may people’s basic rights be met, and may the Empire crumble!

          15. Are you stalking yourself?

          16. Hrw confirms Syrian government used chemical weapons

            https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/

            Lying deceptive taqqiya whore

          17. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            Page not found and wrong date 2014. It’s HRW August 2013.

      2. Hind Abyad Avatar
        Hind Abyad

        The children were kidnapped from Assad supporters, Allawite families in Latakia, 12 August..killed August 24.
        http://www.sott.net/article/266183-Were-Syria-gas-attack-victims-actually-kidnapped-supporters-of-al-Assad-government

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            Reuters is war machine..

          2. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            But still reports … Here’s one about ‘Bush Country’. ;-)))
            http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/08/us-usa-texas-firework-idUSKCN0PI22W20150708

      3. Esther Sch Avatar
        Esther Sch

        “appear to come” is not equal to “have come”. The head line and text do not match!

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          “The HRW report documented the involvement of over 20 rebel groups in the Latakia offensive, which started on August 4 after months of bombardment of a nearby Sunni village, and ended on August 18, when the government regained control of the area”.
          http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/11/us-syria-crisis-killings-idUSBRE99A03520131011

    2. Hind Abyad Avatar
      Hind Abyad

      A Syrian Bloodbath Revisited: Searching for the Truth Behind the Houla Massacre
      http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-look-back-at-the-houla-massacre-in-syria-a-845854.html

      1. Hrw confirms Syrian government used chemical weapons

        https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/13/syria-strong-evidence-government-used-chemicals-weapon

        Lying deceptive taqqiya whore

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          Again..this is like your “Christians beheaded women”.
          It’s HRW August 2013. not May 2014.

          1. The link is there you dumb taqqiya deceptive shite whore.

          2. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            That’s not the link, the link is 2013 deceptive Frankenstein.
            https://www.hrw.org/report/2013

          3. Dear, you calling anyone deceptive is hilarious. :))))
            Xx

          4. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            deceptive..is your raison d’être i thought you would like it

          5. “Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs embedded with cylinders of chlorine gas on three towns in Northern Syria in mid-April 2014”

            https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/13/syria-strong-evidence-government-used-chemicals-weapon

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          Of course.

        2. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          Horrible is bad timing exaggeration ..never mind ..i’m talking about CNN that’s horrible. Good night.:)

          1. Wtf are you braying now you deceptive taqqiya whore?

  2. The real lebanese Avatar
    The real lebanese

    Its funny how we don’t see much debate on here. M8 supporters lie low and a week from now deny it happend.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      How many times can they something? It’s getting boring, actually … and Spring IS coming. :-))

      1. Ask your virtual boyfriend

    2. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      Doctor’s Maher brainwash software is being updated
      New rhetoric is being uploaded.
      Wait please, wait… wait…
      Reboot. Reboot.
      ———————————————————————-
      Hind: Zionist, cia, mossad m16, Saudi, takfiri stole the chemicals and threw it on themselves
      Fart2: Emberialist amrika, dar dar
      Libnan1 (new subscriber): bashar will never fall just like the general said

      1. The real lebanese Avatar
        The real lebanese

        Lol its 100% accurate

      2. 5th ass Avatar

        You captured the essences of these few on this board !

      3. Anti ISIS Avatar
        Anti ISIS

        You just keep letting western media tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s easier that way. We can’t expect you to burst that one brain cell you have.

        1. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          By “western media” do you mean the tens of thousands of news outlets from various influences and beliefs peppered throughout the western civilization?
          Or do you think the western media takes order from a wali Al Faqih just like where you live?
          (Please keep digging)

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            Stop worrying, there will be no Levant in 20 years i was told by a poster, 5 months ago;

            “If you want to survive, become evangelicals or zionists…the new Levant will be finished in 20 years.

            “ihr werdet alle sterben.
            syria,iraq,libanon,yemen:
            you will all die.
            Hepiniz öleceksiniz.”

            “(..) fcking watch, he should have put it in his ___ .

            Look at the message, not how the message is transported.

            You have no control of your environment. You are helpless and leaderless. Safe yourself. Give in.”

          2. “i was told by a poster”
            That you are a shite whore

        2. Using my lines now? Geez you are such a tool

      4. Hind Abyad Avatar
        Hind Abyad

        Big FSA Commander thanking al Qaeda fighters for liberating Mennag Air Base? Takbeer!
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0hQK97lSr0

        1. MekensehParty Avatar
          MekensehParty

          Wow it took a year to update
          Must be some really obsolete hardware they installed between your ears

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            No. I posted Al Rai September 2011 Paris meeting with Sarkozy telling him to; “Prepare your people for an exodus to Europe Western powers will invade the Middle East in November”..it was vetoed by Russia & China.

            I was hated because of Assad but..millions of Syrian and Armenian Christians are gone since.

            Someone posted from this old thread, i have the right to shed light on this scandalous lie.

            I did post this video before on YaLibnan, and got same insults.

            Monday 26 August 2013 article below – 2 days after Ghouta – tells Saudis money was responsible for the innocent victims, for West to bombard Syria..

            http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-the-saudi-connection-the-prince-with-close-ties-to-washington-at-the-heart-of-the-push-for-war-8785049.html

  3. Esther Sch Avatar
    Esther Sch

    ‘Came from the army’ does not necessarily mean ‘used by the army’. People are just too happy to jump on the claim that it must have been Assad, even though the UN commission had not finished its investigation.

    A new development: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10039672/UN-accuses-Syrian-rebels-of-chemical-weapons-use.html

    1. Hrw confirms Syrian government used chemical weapons

      https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/

      Lying deceptive taqqiya whore

      1. Anti ISIS Avatar
        Anti ISIS

        Yep, what ever you post is correct and everything else is wrong.
        You must of got your information from Omar.com

        1. Lol I provide verifiable links and you just bark like the genetically modified labradoodle you are.
          Now sit bitch!

      2. Esther Sch Avatar
        Esther Sch

        “Page not found”!
        What is a taqqiya whore – other than your favorite expression?
        And what kind of a whore are you? A USZio whore?

        “[The United States of] America has invaded 70 countries
        since ….1776. American imperialism has made a major contribution to the 1.3 billion global avoidable deaths in the period 1950-2005. The Neocon American and Zionist Imperialist One Percenters can be seen as the New Nazis. The World, including ordinary Americans (1 million of whom die preventably each year) [10], must shake off the shackles of endless American One Percenter warmongering, imperialism and mendacity….: (Countercurrants July 2015)
        ———————————-
        “We have found that it was LIKELY that chemical agents, particulary Sarin, came from government stock piles,…. but we were not in a position to say who was using them in accordance with evidentiary tests.” UN Media Press, March 18, 2014 (http://webtv.un.org/media/press-conferences/watch/commission-of-inquiry-on-the-syrian-arab-republic-press-conference-geneva-18-march-2014/3356824094001)

          1. Hind Abyad Avatar
            Hind Abyad

            Again not May 2014 but August 2013, playing the idiot..

        1. “Syrian government helicopters dropped barrel bombs embedded with cylinders of chlorine gas on three towns in Northern Syria in mid-April 2014”

          https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/13/syria-strong-evidence-government-used-chemicals-weapon

          1. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            la meme chose!

        2. “Syrian government forces were responsible for chemical weapons attacks on two Damascus suburbs on August 21, 2013. These attacks, which killed hundreds of civilians including many children, appeared to use a weapons-grade nerve agent, most likely Sarin.”

          https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/10/syria-government-likely-culprit-chemical-attack

          1. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            ditto

          2. Wow great retort

        3. Your link doesn’t work!

          “The evidence concerning the type of rockets and launchers used in these attacks strongly suggests that these are weapon systems known and documented to be only in the possession of, and used by, Syrian government armed forces. Human Rights Watch and arms experts monitoring the use of weaponry in Syria have not documented Syrian opposition forces to be in the possession of the 140mm and 330mm rockets used in the attack, or their associated launchers.”

          1. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            Don’t know why link would not work: Trying again:

            webtv.un.org/media/press-conferences/watch/commission-of-inquiry-on-the-syrian-arab-republic-press-conference-geneva-18-march-2014/3356824094001

          2. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Worked for me … 2014 … year and half on isn’t getting better …

          3. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            I like the guy in charge of it … straight answers … “YOU KNOW THE NAMES” !!!

          4. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            Outside of Refugee Counts … 420,000 are presently ‘Besiged’ by someone.

        4. Btw hind it’s obvious it’s you

          1. Esther Sch Avatar
            Esther Sch

            Hind what?

        5. Hind Abyad Avatar
          Hind Abyad

          She or he’s a Salfist ISIS defender, Christian hater and my stalker, calls me taqqiya whore spamming my Inbox 30 messages a day, like a brocken record.
          https://yalibnan.com/2015/07/08/its-a-miracle-lebanon-still-exists-top-eu-diplomat-proclaims/#comment-2134367851

    2. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Which means ASSad lied to Obama about delivering it all to be destroyed.
      So, when are the Missiles coming in??

      Hope they avoid this one ….
      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11239988/War-in-Syria-takes-toll-on-Aleppos-oldest-hotel-in-pictures.html?frame=3111069

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