Chemical weapons watchdog calls for probe into Syria after Al-Assad overthrown | News

The head of the international chemical weapons watchdog says he will ask Syria’s new leaders to give investigators access to the country to work on identifying the perpetrators of attacks that have killed and injured thousands during the civil war.

Speaking at a special session of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on Thursday, Fernando Arias said his office had seen positive signals from Syria about the need to rid the country of chemical weapons, but no request had been received. official

The OPCW’s 41-member executive board met in The Hague to discuss next steps following the sudden overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, US ambassador to the OPCW, Nicole Shampaine, said Washington sees the fall of al-Assad as a great chance to rid Syria of chemical weapons.

“We want to get the job done, and it’s really an opportunity for the new Syrian leadership to work with the international community, to work with the OPCW to get the job done once and for all,” Shampaine said.

Arias said the evolving political landscape in Syria offered the organization an opportunity to finally get clarification on the full extent and scope of Syria’s chemical weapons program after 11 years of inspections.

Warning of the risks of proliferation, he said: “The victims deserve that the perpetrators we have identified be brought to justice” after the repeated use of chemical weapons during Syria’s 13-year war.

Arias will seek access for the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team. That unit and a joint UN-OPCW mechanism have already identified Syria’s armed forces as having used chemical weapons nine times between 2015 and 2017.

The perpetrators of many attacks remain unidentified.

“Act with impunity”

Syria joined the OPCW in 2013 under an agreement between the US and Russia, and 1,300 metric tons of chemical weapons and precursors have been destroyed by the international community. But after more than a decade of inspections, Syria still has banned munitions.

Al-Assad’s Syria and its military ally Russia have always denied using chemical weapons during the war.

With Syria still in disarray with countless armed groups around the country destroyed, the OPCW is trying to act quickly to prevent the use of any chemical weapons.

Echoing such concerns, Germany’s ambassador to the OPCW, Thomas Schieb, said: “The relevant warehouses and facilities must be identified, secured and opened for inspection by the OPCW.”

“We will judge the new Syrian authorities by their action. Now is the opportunity to finally and verifiably destroy the remnants of al-Assad’s chemical weapons program.”

Israeli strikes

Meanwhile, Israel continued to pound Syria, hitting ports and missile depots in Latakia and Tartous, as its ground troops move deeper into a demilitarized zone in the Syrian Golan Heights, effectively expanding their occupation of the area.

Israeli forces have launched more than 480 airstrikes on Syrian sites since al-Assad’s fall on Sunday, continuing a campaign begun while the ousted leader was in power.

A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the “recent and widespread violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

“The Secretary-General is particularly concerned about the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes in multiple locations in Syria, underscoring the need, the urgent need, to reduce violence on all fronts across the country,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Defending Israel’s actions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the strikes were to ensure the Syrian army’s military equipment did not fall into the “wrong hands”.

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli negotiator and president of the US/Middle East Project, said Israel was seizing the moment to “weaken” any future Syrian authority “from its ability to defend itself.”

“I think the signal Israel thinks it’s sending is, ‘We’re here.’ We are the regional police. … We can act with impunity,” Levy told Al Jazeera.

The strikes were carried out as hundreds of people attended the funeral of slain Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada, whose body was recently found in Sednaya prison, a facility outside Damascus that Amnesty International called a “human slaughterhouse” .

Although all detainees are believed to have been released, thousands of detainees remain unaccounted for.

Syria’s new administration has urged citizens to apply to join the police force, pledging to establish “rule of law” after years of abuses under al-Assad.

Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Vall, reporting from Damascus, said Syria’s new leaders had “enormous” tasks ahead of them.

Apart from political and security concerns, the country is facing an “economic mess”, he said.

“People can’t wait. This country is at rock bottom because of what’s going on in the economy,” Vall said.