On 7 April 2018, a

chemical warfare Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military a ...

attack was carried out by forces of the government of Bashar al-Assad in the

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

city of Douma. Medics and witnesses reported that it caused the deaths of between 40 and 50 people and injuries to possibly well over 100. The attack was attributed to the

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-D ...

by rebel forces in Douma, and by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

governments. On 14 April 2018, the United States, France and the United Kingdom carried out a series of military strikes against multiple government sites in Syria. On 6 July 2018, an interim report was issued by the

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(OPCW). Various

chlorinated In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction that entails the introduction of one or more halogens into a compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers ...

organic chemicals In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The s ...

(

dichloroacetic acid Dichloroacetic acid (DCA), sometimes called bichloroacetic acid (BCA), is the chemical compound with formula . It is an acid, an analogue of acetic acid, in which 2 of the 3 hydrogen atoms of the methyl group have been replaced by chlorine atoms. ...

trichloroacetic acid Trichloroacetic acid (TCA; TCAA; also known as trichloroethanoic acid) is an analogue of acetic acid in which the three hydrogen atoms of the methyl group have all been replaced by chlorine atoms. Salts and esters of trichloroacetic acid are calle ...

chlorophenol A chlorophenol is any organochloride of phenol that contains one or more covalently bonded chlorine atoms. There are five basic types of chlorophenols (mono- to pentachlorophenol) and 19 different chlorophenols in total when positional isomerism i ...

, dichlorophenol, bornyl chloride,

chloral hydrate Chloral hydrate is a geminal diol with the formula . It is a colorless solid. It has limited use as a sedative and hypnotic pharmaceutical drug. It is also a useful laboratory chemical reagent and precursor. It is derived from chloral (trichl ...

etc.) were found in samples, along with residues of explosive, but the designated laboratory 03 stated that no CWC-scheduled chemicals or

nerve agent Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...

–related chemicals were detected. In September 2018 the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

Commission of Enquiry on Syria reported: "Throughout 7 April, numerous aerial attacks were carried out in Douma, striking various residential areas. A vast body of evidence collected by the Commission suggests that, at approximately 7.30 p.m., a gas cylinder containing a chlorine payload delivered by helicopter struck a multi-storey residential apartment building located approximately 100 metres south-west of Shohada square. The Commission received information on the death of at least 49 individuals, and the wounding of up to 650 others." While it was initially unclear which chemicals had been used, in 2019 the OPCW FFM (Fact-Finding Mission) report concluded: "Regarding the alleged use of toxic chemicals as a weapon on 7 April 2018 in Douma, the Syrian Arab Republic, the evaluation and analysis of all the information gathered by the FFM—witnesses' testimonies, environmental and biomedical samples analysis results, toxicological and ballistic analyses from experts, additional digital information from witnesses—provide reasonable grounds that the use of a toxic chemical as a weapon took place. This toxic chemical contained reactive chlorine. The toxic chemical was likely molecular chlorine." The OPCW said it found no evidence to support the Syrian government's claim that a local facility was being used by rebel fighters to produce chemical weapons.BBC News 1 March 201

Background

According to

(OPCW) and

investigations, both the

Syrian Arab Republic Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

's forces and Islamic State militants have used

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as a ...

during the conflict.

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

has documented 85 chemical weapons attacks in Syria since 2013, and its sources indicate the Syrian government is responsible for the majority. People reported incidents of chemical weapons use specifically in Douma in January 2018; Russia vetoed a potential United Nations mission to investigate. The

Arms Control Association The Arms Control Association is a United States-based nonpartisan membership organization founded in 1971, with the self-stated mission of "promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies." The group publishes th ...

reported two smaller

chlorine gas Chlorine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate betwee ...

attacks in Douma on 7 March and 11 March. Douma had been under rebel control since 18 October 2012, and, with the rest of the Eastern Ghouta region, under siege since April 2013. The Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), code-named Operation Damascus Steel, a

military offensive An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used b ...

launched by the

Syrian Arab Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six-D ...

(SAA) and its allies on 18 February 2018 to capture the rebel-held territory. The

Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) *Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...

rebel coalition controlled Douma.Reports of Douma evacuation deal 'not true': council member
". Al-Jazeera. 1 April 2018.Who are the rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government forces in Eastern Ghouta?
" SBS News. 2 March 2018. By mid-March, rebel territory in Eastern Ghouta had reduced to three pockets, one in the south around Hamouria held by

Faylaq al-Rahman The al-Rahman Legion ( ar, فيلق الرحمن, ''Faylaq al-Raḥmān'') is a Syrian rebel group that operated in Eastern Ghouta, in the outskirts of Damascus, and in the eastern Qalamoun Mountains. It was the main rebel group in Jobar, and was ...

; a second in the west around

Harasta Harasta ( ar, حرستا, Ḥarastā, syr, ܚܪܣܬܐ, Ḥarastā), also known as ''Harasta al-Basal'' or ''Hirista'', is a city and northeastern suburb of Damascus, Rif Dimashq, Syria. Harasta has an altitude of 702 meters. It has a population ...

held by

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...

; as well as Douma in the north held by Jaysh al-Islam.Syria war: Thousands flee Eastern Ghouta as army advances
, BBC, 15 March 2018 In the second half of March, the other two pockets were secured via evacuation deals between the rebels, Syria, and Russia. On 31 March, the last of the evacuations was conducted and the Syrian army declared victory in Eastern Ghouta, while the rebels that were still holding out in Douma were given an ultimatum to surrender by the end of the day.

Reports

A chemical attack in Douma occurred on 7 April 2018. The Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, a humanitarian organization that supervises medical services in the region, attributed seventy deaths to the attack. On-site medics reported smelling a

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...

-like odour, but that symptoms and death toll pointed to something more noxious such as

sarin Sarin (NATO designation GB G-series, "B"">Nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for Nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound. A video from the scene showed dead men, women, and children with foam at their mouths. The

Syrian American Medical Society Syrian American Medical Society (or SAMS) is a non-profit, non-political, professional organization representing thousands of Syrian-American medical professionals in the United States that provides humanitarian assistance to Syrians in need. Sin ...

(SAMS) reported over 500 injured people at Douma "were brought to local medical centers with symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent." SAMS also said a chlorine bomb struck a Douma hospital, killing six people, and that another attack with "mixed agents" affected a building nearby. According to the Syrian opposition groups, witnesses also reported a strong smell of chlorine and said effects appeared stronger than in previous similar attacks. Syrian opposition activists also posted videos of yellow compressed gas cylinders that they said were used during the attack. Based on the symptoms and the speed with which the victims were affected, medical workers and experts suggested either a combination of chlorine with another gas or a nerve agent was used. Several medical, monitoring, and activist groups—including the

White Helmets White Helmets may refer to: * White Helmets Commission, a body of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship * White Helmets (Syrian Civil War), a volunteer organization in Syria and Turkey ** ''The White Helmets'' ...

—reported that two

Syrian Air Force ) , mascot = , anniversaries = 16 October , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = * 1948 Arab-Israeli War * Six-Day War * Yom Kippur War * ...

Mi-8 helicopters dropped

barrel bombs A barrel bomb is an improvised unguided bomb, sometimes described as a flying IED (improvised explosive device). They are typically made from a large barrel-shaped metal container that has been filled with high explosives, possibly shrapnel, oil ...

on the city of Douma. The bombs caused severe convulsions in some residents and suffocated others.

Aftermath

The day after the chemical attack, all rebels controlling Douma agreed to a deal with the government to surrender the area. In the early hours of 9 April 2018, an air strike was conducted against Tiyas Military Airbase. Two Israeli

F-15I The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15E Strike Eagle is an American all-weather multirole strike fighter derived from the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. The F-15E was designed in the 1980s for long-range, high-speed interdiction without relyi ...

jets reportedly attacked the airfield from Lebanese airspace, firing eight missiles, of which five were intercepted, according to claims by Russia. According to the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...

monitor, at least 14 people were killed and more were wounded. On 10 April, member states proposed competing UN Security Council resolutions to handle the response to the chemical attack. The U.S., France, and UK vetoed a Russian-proposed UN resolution. Russia had also vetoed the U.S.'s proposed resolution to create "a new investigative mechanism to look into chemical weapons attacks in Syria and determine who is responsible." On 14 April, France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched missiles against four Syrian government targets in response to the attack. The strikes were claimed to successfully destroy the chemical weapons capabilities of Syria. Nevertheless, according to Pentagon, the Syrian Arab Republic still retains the ability to launch chemical weapons attacks.Russia, Syria Trying To 'Sanitize' Chemical Attack Site, U.S. Says
, by

RFE/RL Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

, 19 April

Media commentary and investigations

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

journalist

Seth Doane Seth Doane (born June 26, 1978) is an American television journalist, working for CBS News. Career Doane is a Peabody Award winning CBS News reporter who was named correspondent for '' "60 in 6"'', the new ''60 Minutes'' streaming program. "Seth ...

also traveled to Douma on 16 April, finding the site of the alleged attack where a neighbor reported a choking gas that smelled like chlorine. He took Doane to site of the impact and showed where the remains of a missile rested."We couldn't breathe": Inside Douma, Syria, the site of apparent chemical attack
, CBS, 16 April 2018, 6:31 PM

Eliot Higgins Eliot Ward Higgins (born January 1979), who previously wrote under the pseudonym Brown Moses, is a British citizen journalist and former blogger, known for using open sources and social media for investigations. He is the founder of Bellingcat, ...

, a

citizen journalist Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...

, founder of

Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised as bellngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 20 ...

, and blogger investigating the Syrian civil war, concluded based on geographical, video, and open source evidence that the chlorine gas was dropped by one of two Mi-8 helicopters taking off from Dumayr Airbase 30 minutes earlier. Military officials in the US, UK, and France all insisted the bomb had been dropped from one of two Syrian government helicopters flying from the airbase at Dumayr. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' reported testimony from witnesses that medical personnel in Douma faced "extreme intimidation" from Syrian officials for them to remain silent about their patients treatment. They and their families were allegedly threatened by the Syrian government. Medics who tried to leave the area were said to have been heavily searched in case they were transporting samples. ''The Guardian'' described Russian state media as "pushing" two lines; that they have spoken to witnesses denying the occurrence of any attacks, and that they have found chlorine-filled canisters in Douma "used for rebel attacks later blamed on the regime." In June 2018, a ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' investigation found that Syrian military helicopters dropped a chlorine bomb on the rooftop balcony of an apartment building in Douma. At least 34 victims were counted and their bodies "showed horrific signs of chemical exposure." Dozens of videos and photos were examined with academics, scientists and chemical weapons experts. ''The New York Times'' was unable to visit Douma, but forensically analysed the visual evidence from Syrian activists and Russian reports. They collaborated with

Forensic Architecture Forensic Architecture is a multidisciplinary research group based at Goldsmiths, University of London that uses architectural techniques and technologies to investigate cases of state violence and violations of human rights around the world. The ...

to reconstruct a three-dimensional model of the building, balcony and bomb, and analysed how damage to the bomb's casing related to the debris. According to their findings, key pieces of evidence indicated the bomb was not planted, but dropped from the air by a Syrian military helicopter, and the evidence supported the involvement of chlorine. The dent on the front of the bomb indicated it crashed nose down into the floor of the balcony and pierced the ceiling. The front of the casing showed corrosion similar to that which is caused when metal is exposed to chlorine and water."One Building, One Bomb: How Assad Gassed His Own People"
''The New York Times''. 25 June 2018. The grid pattern imprinted on the underside of the bomb matched the metal lattice in the rubble that was over the balcony. Twisted metal found in the rubble corresponded to rigging seen attached to similar weapons."The OPCW FFM's Report on the April 7th 2018 Douma Chemical Attack Versus The Open Source Evidence"

. 1 March 2019. Apparent frost covering the underside of the casing indicated the canister of chlorine was emptied quickly. According to ''The New York Times'', since the Syrian military controlled the airspace over Douma, it would be "almost impossible" for the attack to have been staged by opposition fighters who do not have aircraft. ''The New York Times'' noted that remote access "cannot tell us everything", and environmental and tissue samples were also needed in chemical weapons investigations."How We Created a Virtual Crime Scene to Investigate Syria's Chemical Attack"
''The New York Times''. 24 June 2018. After six months of examining the evidence, interviewing witnesses, and consulting with experts such as Higgins and Theodore Postol of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

, James Harkin concluded in ''

The Intercept ''The Intercept'' is an American left-wing news website founded by Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, Laura Poitras and funded by billionaire eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar. Its current editor is Betsy Reed. The publication initially report ...

'' that Syrian Air Force helicopters dropped two chlorine canister bombs on Douma on 7 April 2018. Harkin noted that many chlorine attacks launched by Syrian forces in the past had resulted in no casualties, hypothesizing that—in contrast to the much more lethal sarin gas—Syrian forces likely employed chlorine at Douma to induce panic among the population rather than to kill many people. One of the canisters never released its payload and caused no deaths, but the other canister struck the weak roof of an apartment complex at an unexpected angle, releasing a very high concentration of chlorine that killed the people beneath it in a matter of minutes. According to Harkin, the frightened residents seen flocking to a nearby hospital and being doused with water in viral footage were not survivors of the chemical attack, but victims of conventional weapons and smoke inhalation. A report released by the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi), a Berlin-based think tank, determined that chlorine attacks accounted for 91.5% of all confirmed chemical weapons attacks attributable to the Syrian government throughout the war, including the 7 April 2018 attack on Douma. The report held the Syrian government responsible for 98% of all recorded chemical weapons attacks over the course of the Syrian civil war and believes its use of chemical weapons "is best understood as part of its overall war strategy of collective punishment of populations in opposition-held areas". Commenting on the OPCW FFM report of 2019,

remarked that the detail provided, 'continues to make it clear that the Douma attack was yet another chlorine attack delivered by helicopter, using the same type of modified gas cylinders as seen in previous chlorine attacks.' On 23 January 2020, Bellingcat published a report in which it argued that it is effectively impossible for the Douma attack to have been a

false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...

incident.

OPCW investigation

On 10 April, the Syrian and Russian governments invited the

to send a team to investigate the attacks. When the investigators arrived in Damascus on 14 April, their access to the site was blocked by Russia and Syria who cited security concerns.Chemical weapons inspectors reach Douma to probe gas attack
.

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

. Published 21 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018. On 17 April, the OPCW was promised access to the site, but had not entered Douma and was unable to carry out the inspection because a large crowd gathered at one site, while their reconnaissance teams came under fire at the other site. According to the OPCW director, "On arrival at site one, a large crowd gathered and the advice provided by the UNDSS was that the reconnaissance team should withdraw," and "at site two, the team came under small arms fire and an explosive was detonated. The reconnaissance team returned to Damascus." The OPCW statement did not lay blame on any party for the incident. The United States believed the Syrian government is stalling the OPCW to give itself time to remove evidence. On 19 April, the OPCW still was unable to access the sites. According to a

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

spokeswoman, there was "credible information" that "Russian officials are working with the Syrian regime to deny and to delay these inspectors from gaining access to Douma," and "to sanitize the locations of the suspected attacks and remove incriminating evidence of chemical weapons use." OPCW inspectors visited the site and collected samples on 21 April and 25 April 2018. The organization said that it would submit to its member states a report "based on analysis of the sample results, as well other information and materials collected by the team." At the warehouse and the facility suspected by the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic of producing chemical weapons in Douma, information was gathered to assess whether these facilities were associated with the production of chemical weapons or toxic chemicals that could be used as weapons. From the information gathered during the two on-site visits to these locations, there was no indication of either facility being involved in the production of chemical warfare agents or toxic chemicals for use as weapons. During the visit to Location 2 (cylinder on the roof), Syrian Arab Republic representatives did not provide the access requested by the FFM team to some apartments within the building, which were closed at the time. The Syrian Arab Republic representatives stated that they did not have the authority to force entry into the locked apartments. On 6 July 2018, the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) published their interim report. The report stated that:

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.

In March 2019, the OPCW FFM (Fact-Finding Mission) final report concluded: The OPCW said it found no evidence to support the government's claim that a local facility was being used by rebel fighters to produce chemical weapons. It was not the mandate of the fact-finding team to assign blame for the attack. In November 2019, Fernando Arias reaffirmed his defense of the FFM report, saying of differing views: "While some of these diverse views continue to circulate in some public discussion forums, I would like to reiterate that I stand by the independent, professional conclusion f the investigation" Russia threatened to block the budget for the OPCW at the annual meeting in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in 2019 if it included funding for a new team which would give the organisation powers to pin blame on culprits for the use of toxic arms. Previously the watchdog only had a mandate to say whether or not an attack had occurred. Russia, Iran and China led efforts to block the budget in 2018 but it passed by a majority of 99–27. "Moscow has consistently raised doubts over chemical attacks in Syria or insisted they were staged, and has recently highlighted a leaked report raising questions about a deadly chlorine attack in the Syrian town of Douma in April 2018. Tensions have also been high since four Russian spies were expelled from the Netherlands in 2018 for allegedly trying to hack into the OPCW's computers." On 28 November 2019 the bid by Russia to block funding for a new team that will identify culprits behind toxic attacks in Syria failed with member states at the global chemical watchdog overwhelmingly approving a new budget. On 17 January 2020, Bellingcat published a report in which it said it had found problems with the engineering assessment by the former OPCW inspector Ian Henderson. In February 2020, Fernando Arias, the Director-General of the OPCW, shared the findings of an independent investigation into possible breaches of confidentiality which was initiated after the unauthorised release of a document in May 2019."OPCW: Independent Investigation into Possible Breaches of Confidentiality Report Released"
OPCW. 6 February 2020. The investigation took place between July 2019 and February 2020. The investigators determined that two former OPCW officials, referred to as Inspector A and Inspector B, violated their obligations concerning the protection of confidential information related to the Douma investigation. According to the investigators, Inspector A was not a member of the fact-finding mission (FFM), played a minor supporting role in the Douma investigation, and did not have access to all information gathered by the FFM team – including witness interviews, laboratory results, and analyses by independent experts. After the July 2018 interim report on Douma, it took a further seven months for the FFM to further investigate the incident and conduct the bulk of its work, and Inspector A no longer had any supporting role regarding the FFM during this period. According to the investigators, the assessment of Inspector A was an unofficial personal document created with incomplete information and without authorisation. Inspector B was a member of the FFM for the first time and travelled to Syria in April 2018. He never left the command post in Damascus because he had not completed the training necessary to deploy on-site. The majority of the FFM's work occurred after Inspector B separated with the OPCW at the end of August 2018. During a briefing in February 2020 to State Parties to the

Chemical Weapons Convention The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), officially the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, is an arms control treaty administered by the Organisation for ...

, Fernando Arias said:

Inspectors A and B are not whistle-blowers. They are individuals who could not accept that their views were not backed by evidence. When their views could not gain traction, they took matters into their own hands and breached their obligations to the Organisation. Their behaviour is even more egregious as they had manifestly incomplete information about the Douma investigation. Therefore, as could be expected, their conclusions are erroneous, uninformed, and wrong.

Reactions

Government

– On 12 April, French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

said he has proof that the Syrian government attacked the town of Douma with chemical weapons and at least used chlorine. – The Foreign Ministry of Iran spokesman said: "While the Syrian army has the upper hand in the war against armed terrorists, it is not logical for them to use chemical weapons. Such claims and accusations

bout chemical weapons use Bout can mean: People *Viktor Bout, suspected arms dealer *Jan Everts Bout, early settler to New Netherland *Marcel Bout Musical instruments * The outward-facing round parts of the body shape of violins, guitars, and other stringed instrume ...

by the Americans and some Western countries signal a new plot against the government and nation of Syria and is an excuse for military action against them." – The Qatar Foreign Ministry condemned the use of chemical weapons, and called for an investigation into the incident and for punishment of those involved. – On 13 March 2018 the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Af ...

of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

Valery Gerasimov Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov ( rus, Валерий Васильевич Герасимов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪdʑ ɡʲɪˈrasʲɪməf; born 8 September 1955) is a Russian army general serving as the Chief of the General S ...

, said the Russian military had "reliable intelligence" that suggested the rebels holding Eastern Ghouta, along with the

activists, were preparing to stage and film a chemical weapons attack against civilians, which the U.S. government would blame on the Syrian forces and use as a pretext to bomb the government quarter in Damascus. In the event that the lives of Russian servicemen should be threatened by U.S. strikes, Gerasimov said Russia would respond militarily — "against both the missiles and the platforms from which they're launched". The

Russian Foreign Ministry The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; russian: Министерство иностранных дел Российской Федерации, МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with lea ...

on 8 April denied chemical weapons had been used. A few days later, the Russian military said members of the White Helmets organization filmed a staged attack.White Helmets staged Douma 'chemical weapons attack' on civilians — Russian General Staff
TASS, 11 April 2018. Then, on 13 April, the Russian

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

said that it was Britain that staged the attack in order to provoke U.S. airstrikes. On 26 April, Russian officials held a press conference in

where they presented several apparent witnesses from the Douma incident, flown in from Syria, who said that reported victims had not suffered symptoms of a chemical attack. The Russian envoy to the OPCW said that videos of the attack were little more than "a sloppily staged video showing the pretence for a strike is completely groundless". On 20 January 2020, Russia convened a

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

(UNSC)

Arria Arria (also Arria Major) was a woman in ancient Rome. Her husband, Caecina Paetus, was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion but was not capable of forcing himself to do so. Arria wrenched the dagger from ...

meeting (not treated as formal council business) where it presented the view that there was no evidence that chemical weapons were used in Douma. Ian Henderson appeared via video. The ambassador from Germany compared the presentation to ''

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''. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the use of chemical weapons, and stress the need for a peaceful solution based on the principles of the Geneva Declaration and UN Security Council resolutions. – The Syrian state-owned

Syrian Arab News Agency The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) ( ar, الوكالة العربية السورية للأنباء (سانا), ) is a Syrian state-controlled news agency, linked to the country's ministry of information. It was established in June 1965. We ...

reported a Foreign and Expatriates Ministry source saying that Syria's alleged use of "chemical weapons have become an unconvincing stereotype, except for some countries which traffic with the blood of civilians and support terrorism in Syria." – A spokesman for President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...

said the "Syrian regime must give account for the attacks in various regions of the country at different times," and called upon the international community to address war crimes and crimes against humanity. – Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

said that "these latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond" and that "investigators from the

relooking into reports of chemical weapons use in Syria have our full support. Russia must not yet again try to obstruct these investigations". He also condemned the use of chemical weapons in general, adding that "those responsible for the use of chemical weapons have lost all moral integrity and must be held to account." – President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

condemned the attack on Twitter, heavily criticizing Russia over it. Trump canceled his trip to the

8th Summit of the Americas The eighth Summit of the Americas was held in Lima, Peru, from April 13–14, 2018. The main focus of the summit was anti-corruption following the outbreak of the Odebrecht scandal, which affected numerous countries in the region, while attention w ...

, sending Vice President

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in his place. On 10 April, Trump, UK Prime Minister

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, and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement following joint telephone calls that they had "agreed that the international community needed to respond to uphold the worldwide prohibition on the use of chemical weapons". On 11 April, via

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, President Trump told Russia to "get ready" for "nice and new and 'smart' missiles."

Vasily Nebenzia Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya ( rus, Василий Алексеевич Небензя; born 26 February, 1962) is a Russian diplomat and the current Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations. His official title is Ambassador Extr ...

, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States would "bear responsibility" for any "illegal military adventure" they conducted. The following day, Trump appeared to soften his resolve, tweeting he " ver said when an attack on Syria would take place. Could be very soon or not so soon at all!"

U.S. Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

James Mattis stated the U.S. was still waiting on the OPCW investigation, but that there were "a lot of media and social media indicators that either chlorine or sarin was used" in Douma. The BBC quoted U.S. officials as saying urine and blood samples taken from victims had tested positively for traces of chlorine. On 14 April, France, the United Kingdom and the United States launched airstrikes against four Syrian government targets in response to the attack.

Intergovernment

– In a statement, the EU said "the evidence points towards yet another chemical attack by the regime" and "it is a matter of grave concern that chemical weapons continue to be used, especially on civilians. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons and calls for an immediate response by the international community". It also called for the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, ...

to identify the perpetrators and for Russia and Iran to influence Assad against launching such attacks. – On 10 April 2018, the

failed to adopt three competing resolutions on an inquiry into the chemical attack, with Russia and the United States clashing over the issue and exchanging military threats. – The WHO released a statement, with a reference to outside medical sources, that 43 people died while suffering "symptoms consistent with exposure to highly toxic chemicals."

References

External links

Report of the Fact-Finding Mission Regarding the Incident of Alleged Use of Toxic Chemicals as a Weapon in Douma, Syrian Arab Republic, on 7 April 2018

Bellingcat: The opcw ffms report on 7 April 2018 douma chemical attack versus the open source evidence
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Wikileaks OPCW-DOUMA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douma chemical attack, 2018 April 2018 events in Syria Chemical weapons attacks Douma District Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2018 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving chemical weapons Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving the Syrian government Rif Dimashq Governorate in the Syrian civil war