Apr 232018
Reports of OHCHR
Dear Mr. Rogomez,
The picture shows poison gas attacks in Syria. The Bundestag office of Cem Özdemir MdB informed me that 34 poison gas missions have so far been proven, of which 27 are attributed to the Assad regime (the others could not be assigned). Which reports (by whom) are the incidents to which the UN refers? How credible are these reports for you? For which incidents are the test results of the OPCW with which result? Finally, can you please send me links to OHCHR’s reports on the 27 incidents?
Best regards, Christoph Gäbler
Dear Mr Gabler,
Please find attached a detailed breakdown of the 34 chemical weapons attacks cited in our infographic (which you refer to). This attached table contains links to all relevant reports where these incidents are documented. Please note 28 of these have been attributed to the Syrian Government. And this is not an exhaustive list of attacks, but only those the Commission of Inquiry has been able to properly investigate, document and publicize.
Best regards, Rolando
List of chemical weapons attacks documented by the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
(Rev.3, as of 15 January 2018)
(NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list of chemical weapons attacks that have taken place in Syria since the beginning of the conflict. The list below represents the chemical weapons’ attacks that the Commission were able to investigate and met their required standard of proof allowing them to report on these incidents publicly)
| No. | Date of incident | Circumstances | Perpetrator | Report Reference |
| 1 | 19 March 2013 | Khan Al-Asal (Aleppo), on 19 March. The chemical agents used in Khan Al-Assal bore the same unique hallmarks as those used in Al-Ghouta (see below attack of 21 Aug 2013) | Unknown | A/HRC/23/58 A/HRC/30/48 A/HRC/28/69 |
| 2 | 19 March 2013 | Uteibah ( Damascus) on 19 March; | Unknown | A/HRC/23/58 |
| 3 | 13 April 2013 | Sheikh Maqsood neighbourhood (Aleppo) (Circumstances not specified) | Unknown | A/HRC/23/58 |
| 4 | 29 April 2013 | Saraqib (Idlib) (Circumstances not specified) | Unknown | A/HRC/23/58 |
| 5 | 21 Aug 2013 | In al-Ghouta (rif Damascus) significant quantities of sarin were used in a well-planned indiscriminate attack targeting civilian-inhabited areas, causing mass casualties. The evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used 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 safely manipulate large amounts of chemical agents. | Unknown | A/HRC/30/48 A/HRC/28/69 |
| 6 | 11 April 2014 | Kafr Zeita. Witnesses saw helicopters drop barrel bombs and smelled a scent akin to domestic chlorine immediately following impact. Accounts of victims, and of medical personnel involved in administering treatment, provide descriptions of symptoms compatible with exposure to chemical agents, namely vomiting, eye and skin irritation, choking and other respiratory problems. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
| 7, 8 | 12 April 2014 | Kafr Zeita & Al-Tamana’a. Circumstances are the same as the incident above. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
| 9 | 16 April 2014 | Kafr Zeita. Circumstances are the same as the incident above. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
| 10, 11 | 18 April 2014 | Kafr Zeita & Al-Tamana’a. Circumstances are the same as the incident above. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
| 12 | 21 April 2014 | Tal Minnis. Circumstances are the same as the incident above. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 29 April 2014 | Al-Tamana’a. Circumstances are the same as the incidents above. | Syrian government forces | A/HRC/27/60 |
| 14 | 5 April 2016 | [The Commission] has received reliable information on the use of chlorine gas in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood of Aleppo city on 5 April, when four persons, including two civilians, were taken to the hospital with symptoms of chlorine gas inhalation. | Unknown | A/HRC/33/55 |
| 15 | 1 Aug 2016 | Syrian helicopters dropped chlorine munitions in a residential area of Saraqeb (Idlib) injuring 28 civilians including 10 children and five women. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 16 | 6 Sep 2016 | Syrian forces used an improvised chlorine bomb in al-Sukkari neighbourhood (eastern Aleppo city) killing a 13 year old girl and a man and injuring 80 civilians. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 17 | 1 Oct 2016 | The M10 hospital in eastern Aleppo was hit with a series of bombs which reportedly included one bunker-busting bomb, cluster munitions and chlorine. The latter led several people, including medical staff, to receive treatment for symptoms of chlorine inhalation. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 18, 19, 20 | 8 Dec 2016 | Syrian helicopters dropped chlorine bombs in the al-Kalasa, Bustan al-Qasr and al-Firdous neighbourhoods (eastern Aleppo city) injuring several people. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 21, 22 | 9 Dec 2016 | Syrian forces dropped two improvised bombs with chlorine payloads in the al-Kalasa and Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhoods (eastern Aleppo city) injuring 35 people. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 23 | 10 Dec 2016 | Doctors reported treating patients from Bustan al-Qasr with similar symptoms. On this occasion, improvised chemical bombs were used directly on al-Hayat clinic | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/64 |
| 24 | 8 Jan 2017 | Pro-Govt forces used chlorine munitions that injured at least six civilians in Bseema village (Damascus). | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/CRP.3 |
| 25 | 30 Jan 2017 | An improvised chlorine payload struck near a frontline position in Sultan al-Marj village (eastern Ghouta) injuring 11 men. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/34/CRP.3 |
| 26 | 25 March 2017 | On 25 March, at approximately 1 p.m., a Syrian air force helicopter dropped a barrel bomb on Al-Latamneh hospital, killing three civilian men — a surgeon and two patients — and injuring a number of staff and patients. Photos of remnants provided to the Commission depict an improvised chlorine bomb. […] The use of chlorine is further corroborated by symptoms reported: at least 32 persons were injured as a result of the attack […] some of the injured were armed group fighters. […] | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
| 27 | 29 March 2017 | Three rockets were launched on the afternoon of 29 March from government forces positions into a residential area of central Qabun municipality, close to the Al-Hayat hospital, as well as into neighbouring Tishreen. One of the rockets released a white cloud in Qabun and witnesses recalled the spread of gas, which smelled strongly of domestic chlorine. Thirty-five persons were injured, including one woman and two children. Victims exhibited symptoms consistent with chlorine exposure, including respiratory difficulties, coughing and runny noses. The most serious cases were treated with hydrocortisone l and oxygen. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 30 March 2017 | An unidentified warplane dropped two bombs in an agricultural field south of Al-Latamneh village. Interviewees recalled how the first bomb made almost no sound but released a “toxic material” absent any particular smell […] at least 85 people suffered from respiratory difficulties, loss of consciousness, red eyes and impaired vision. Among the injured were 12 male farmers located 300 metres away from the impact point, 2 of them minors. Nine medical personnel who treated patients without protection also fell ill […] While the Commission is unable to identify the exact agent to which the victims of the 30 March incident were exposed, interviewees described certain symptoms, including a very low pulse in one case, and contracted pupils, suffocation, nausea and spasms in another, that indicate poisoning by a phosphor-organic chemical, such as a pesticide or a nerve agent. The absence of a characteristic chlorine odour, coupled with secondary intoxications among medical personnel treating victims, supports the conclusion that a toxic chemical other than chlorine was employed. Given that Syrian and Russian forces were conducting an aerial campaign in the area, the absence of indications that Russian forces have ever used chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic,1 and the repeated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian air force, there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the Syrian air force used chemical weapons in Al-Latamneh on 30 March | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
| 29 | 4 April 2017 | In the early morning of 4 April, public reports emerged that air strikes had released sarin in the town. Dozens of civilians were reported killed and hundreds more injured. Russian and Syrian officials denied that Syrian forces had used chemical weapons, explaining that air strikes conducted by Syrian forces at 11.30 a.m. that day had struck a terrorist chemical weapons depot. […]the Commission finds that there are reasonable grounds to | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
1
See A/HRC/34/64, para. 17.
| believe that Syrian forces attacked Khan Shaykhun with a sarin bomb at approximately 6.45 a.m. on 4 April, constituting the war crimes of using chemical weapons and indiscriminate attacks in a civilian inhabited area. | ||||
| 30 | 7 April 2017 | On 7 April, shortly after midday, Al-Hayat hospital received two men suffering from milder manifestations of the same symptoms [as described in incident 27] | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
| 31, 32, 33 | 1, 2 and 6 July 2017 | In the first week of July, government forces used chlorine against Faylaq ar-Rahman fighters in Damascus on three occasions: on 1 July in Ayn Tarma, on 2 July in Zamalka and on 6 July in Jowbar. In total, 46 fighters suffered from red eyes, hypoxia, rhinorrhoea, spastic cough and bronchial secretions. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/36/55 |
| 34 | 18 November 2017 | In the early morning hours of 18 November, a number of weapons fell on the Harasta frontline. Minutes later, 25 fighters suffered from a combination of symptoms including blurred vision, unconsciousness, contracted pupils, shortness of breath, nasal secretions, vomiting, and headaches . . . Interviewees consistently said they believed the weapon originated from Government forces positions. | Syrian Government forces | A/HRC/37/72 |
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