Earlier this week, an attack utilizing chemical weapons in Syria may have left 130 people dead. According to opposition groups, Assad’s government launched rockets with chemical warheads into Damascus suburbs on Wednesday. The government sent further warheads into the suburb on Thursday. Photographic evidence from Wednesday’s attack shows the telltale symptoms of the use of some toxic chemical: difficulty breathing, vomiting, constricted pupils, skin rashes and loose bowels. Western experts believe that sarin gas, an organophosphate agent, was used in the attack.

Secretary Ban Ki-Moon has urged an investigation into the attack, saying that there would be ‘serious consequences’ for those responsible. Ban urged the government to cooperate with the international body, saying,“The time has clearly come for the parties to stop shooting, and start talking. I am determined to do everything I can to assist the victims and move towards a political solution. That is the only way this crisis will be resolved.” Currently, a UN team is in Syria spending up to two weeks investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons by the government. The mandate granted the UN team access to only 3 of 13 sites identified as suspicious before the attack on Wednesday. Angela Kane, the top UN official on disarmament, is expected to arrive in Damascus on Sunday. Kane will push to give UN inspectors access to the affected region.

The Syrian government has not responded to UN requests. Thus far, Syria has not granted UN inspectors access to sites supposedly affected by chemical weapon. Russia, Syria’s arms supplier, said that it was the rebels, not the government, who were preventing UN inspectors from investigating the region. In response, Syrian rebels pledged to guarantee the safety of UN inspectors. Thus far, the rebels have been compliant with these investigations, even sending tissue and blood samples for further inspection.

The international community is conflicted over how to respond to these claims, if they are indeed true. France said that, if the allegations against the government prove to be true, the international community needs to respond with force. Similarly, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that a ‘red line’ had been crossed in Syria. Although Washington previously said that chemical weapon use was its ‘red line’ in Syria, the Obama administration stated that it was appalled by the allegation and no further plans of retaliation have been put forth. European officials say that there are options, but that they become limited without US support. Furthermore, there is little the international community can do without the support of the Security Council. Russia, Syria’s greatest ally to the Security Council at the moment, went so far as to suggest that the opposition had staged the attack.

According to Ki-Moon, “Our challenge remains: achieving a complete cessation of hostilities, delivering humanitarian assistance and getting the Government and the opposition to the negotiating table in Geneva as soon as possible.” The Joint Special Representative of the UN and League of Arab States for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi said that planning for the second Geneva conference is underway, but that it should take place in September. The last conference in Geneva was held in June with the United States and Russia present. The conference in September would hope to bring a political solution to the conflict. According to Brahimi, a solution is necessary because Syria is “without a doubt, the biggest threat to peace and security in the world today.”

– Kelsey Ziomek

Sources: UN, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Washington Post
Photo: Urban Times