Monday, March 14, 2016

161 chemical weapons reportedly used during Syrian conflict

Syria chemical weapons
Syria chemical weapons
Thinkstock

Since the start of the five-year conflict, chemical weapons have been used at least 161 times in Syria, according to the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS) report released Monday.

According the report, 133 other chemical attacks were also reported in Syria during the period, however, they have not been fully substantiated.

The 161 documented attacks through the end of 2015 caused 1,491 deaths and such attacks have increased, reaching a high of at least 69 documented attacks in 2015, with 14,581 people injured throughout the past five years.

The US-based nonprofit organization which supports more than 1,700 workers at over 100 medical centers in Syria, says its report is mainly based on the accounts of medical personnel who have treated victims, aided by NGOs and other local sources. 

SAMS has called on the 15-member UN Security Council and the wider international community to identify the perpetratorsresponsible for the chemical attacks  and hold them accountable through the International Criminal Court. 

A big amount of SAMS report has been shared with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a global chemical watchdog, which is due to begin investigating a handful of potential cases later this month.

The SAMS report says that 77 percent of attacks were carried out after the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution in 2013, stipulating international bodies to oversee the destruction of Syria's declared chemical weapons stockpiles.
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Reports have also recently surfaced that
ISIS has used chemical agents in attacks in Syria.