The Syrian Arab Army and Syrian civilians were targeted with chemical weapons, including chlorine, by armed terrorist organizations, namely the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and “Jabhat al-Nusra”, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari said, according to a SANA report.
The Syrian government is not responsible for the use of chemical weapons; it addressed dozens of letters supported by evidence to the Security Council, its specialized committees, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about the possession, manufacture, and use of chemical weapons by terrorist organizations in Syria, he added.
Al-Jaafari pointed out that the Syrian government was the one to demand an investigation into the use of chemical weapons in Khan al-Assal area near Aleppo, which went unheeded by the United Nations, and the perpetrators of that crime were never identified or brought to justice.
“Syria has fulfilled its commitments in the framework of its joining the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as its obligations under the UN Security Council resolution no. 2118 for the year 2013 as it has been keen from the start to provide all forms of cooperation and act in a positive, transparent and flexible manner in fulfilling its commitments,” he said, noting that all of this took place while Syria is facing great challenges and experiences a difficult, and complicated situation due to the hostile behavior of some countries.
Al-Jaafari said that the Syrian government has repeatedly condemned the use of chemical weapons or any weapon of mass destruction anywhere and anytime, stressing that credibility, transparency, professionality, non-politicization, and full cooperation with the Syrian government must govern the mechanisms of implementing the new resolution.
He noted that over two years ago, Syria provided a video shot in Turkey showing terrorists experimenting with chemical weapons on rabbits and threatening to use it in Syria, something which the terrorist actually did.
The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted resolution No. 2235 on forming an international committee of experts to investigate the use of chemicals including chlorine in Syria.