by Oui
Sun Jul 8th, 2018 at 02:29:49 PM EST
Reuters and BBC first reported "chlorine" was found in Douma
The interim report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said "various chlorinated organic chemicals" had been found but there was no evidence of nerve agents.
Dozens of civilians were killed in the attack on the rebel-held town in the Eastern Ghouta region near Damascus.
The Syrian government denies carrying out any chemical weapons attacks.
Following the Douma attack, US, British and French warplanes launched strikes against government military targets.
More below the fold ...
The Washington Post writes:
A global watchdog concluded that chlorine was indeed used in the city of Douma a day before rebel forces surrendered there.
...
In an interim report released Friday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its inspectors had discovered traces of "various chlorinated organic chemicals" across two sites it inspected.
"No Nerve Agents" In Douma: OPCW Report Demolishes White House Sarin Narrative
A preliminary report published Friday by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found no traces of any nerve agent at the site of a suspected chemical attack in the Syrian city of Douma. The OPCW report states this unambiguously.
Compare the newly published official OPCW findings with the 5-page White House assessment released on April 13th, just days after the alleged attack. Now contradicted by the new OPCW findings, the White House asserted that sarin was used at Douma,
A significant body of information points to the regime using chlorine in its bombardment of Duma, while some additional information points to the regime also using the nerve agent sarin.
○ Chlorine used in Syria's Douma, no trace of nerve agent, Interim OPCW report finds | ABC News Australia |
OPCW Issues Fact-Finding Mission Reports on Chemical Weapons Use Allegations in Douma, Syria in 2018 and in Al-Hamadaniya and Karm Al-Tarrab in 2016
The FFM's activities in Douma included on-site visits to collect environmental samples, interviews with witnesses, data collection. In a neighbouring country, the FFM team gathered or received biological and environmental samples, and conducted witness interviews.
OPCW designated labs conducted analysis of prioritised samples. The results show that no organophosphorous nerve agents or their degradation products were detected in the environmental samples or in the plasma samples taken from alleged casualties. Along with explosive residues, various chlorinated organic chemicals were found in samples from two sites, for which there is full chain of custody. Work by the team to establish the significance of these results is on-going. The FFM team will continue its work to draw final conclusions.
The Fact-Finding Mission also issued a report on 2 July 2018 addressing allegations of chemical weapons use in Al-Hamadaniya, Syria on 30 October 2016, and Karm al-Tarrab, Syria on 13 November 2016. On the basis of the information received and analysed, the prevailing narrative of the interviews, and the results of the laboratory analyses, the FFM cannot confidently determine whether or not a specific chemical was used as a weapon in the incidents that took place in the neighbourhood of Al-Hamadaniyah and in the area of Karm al-Tarrab.
○ Lying by Omission: Mainstream Media's Distortion of the OPCW Report on Douma | Off-Guardian |
○ White Helmets staged Douma 'chemical weapons attack' on civilians -- Russian General Staff | Tass |
