Sarin Chemical Attack: Syrian Government Held Responsible

Accra, Sept. 6 - (UPI/GNA) - A United Nations report has found the Syrian government responsible for a sarin gas attack that killed dozens in April.

The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, reports in their findings that on April 4 as part of a government aerial campaign in northern Hama, sarin gas was used, killing over 80 people. The aerial campaign targeted medical facilities, weakening the ability of many civilians to seek help.

Nearly a third of the dead were children.
According to the report, the Syrian forces have also used weaponized chlorine in Idlib, Hamah, eastern Ghouta, and Damascus, explicitly violating international humanitarian law and the Convention on Chemical Weapons.

Chair of the UN commission, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro said, "The parties to this horrific conflict must fundamentally realign their tactics with basic notions of humanity, and the international community must reinvigorate its commitment to meaningful justice and accountability for all perpetrators of crimes, if we are to see a significant shift away from Machiavellian disregard for the interests of the Syrian people and the progress towards alleviating the suffering of civilians."

Terror groups like the Islamic State also continue to brutalize civilian populations in the region through suicide bombing and hostage-taking. Many IS fighters tried to sell Yazidi girls before fleeing Syria, the report notes.

The report also notes that despite tenuous progress in the war-torn country, civilians continue to suffer from widespread humanitarian violations -- and highlights a "genuine, concerted, and sustained action from national and international actors to find a political solution and to put an end to grave violations of human rights and the laws of war."