THE HAGUE: Sarin nerve agent was used in an ‘incident’ at a northern Syrian village in late March, five days before the deadly attack on Khan Sheikhun, the world’s chemical watchdog said Wednesday.
“Analysis of samples collected (by the OPCW)... relates to an incident that took place again in the northern part of Syria on the 30th of March this year,” the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told AFP in an interview.
“The results prove the existence of sarin,” Ahmet Uzumcu said.
The Khan Sheikhun attack on April 4 was previously believed to have been the first use of sarin since the deadly August 2013 attack in and around Damascus which killed hundreds of people.
Two days after Khan Sheikhun incident, the United States fired 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base from which it said the attack was launched.
At least 87 people including 30 children died in the attack on Khan Sheikhun, a town in the opposition-held province of Idlib.
But Uzumcu said Wednesday sarin had also been used the opposition-held village called Latamneh, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) south of Khan Sheikhun on March 30.
“What we know at the moment is not much. Fifty people were reportedly injured. There were no deaths reported,” he said.
He said the OPCW’s fact-finding mission had retrieved soil samples, clothing and metal parts “which were sent to our laboratories and we received the results a few days ago.”
It is “worrying that there is some sarin use or exposure even before the April 4 incident,” he said.
Uzumcu pointed out that the OPCW’s fact-finding mission team was unlikely to visit the area, where fighting is still ongoing between Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups.
“The (fact-finding team) is making every effort to contact the victims,” Uzumcu said.
Syria’s government has denied involvement and claims it no longer possesses chemical weapons after a 2013 agreement under which it pledged to surrender its chemical arsenal.
The OPCW earlier this year presented a report confirming sarin gas was used in the attack at Khan Sheikhun, but did not assign blame.
But UN war crimes investigators last month said they had evidence that Syrian forces were behind the attacks, the first UN report to officially blame the Assad regime.
Damascus has vehemently refuted the claims saying “Syria has not and will not use toxic gases against its people because it does not have them.”
In total, the OPCW is studying as many as 45 suspected chemical attacks in Syria since mid-2016, the watchdog said in April.
The JIM, a joint OPCW-United Nations panel which reports to the UN Security Council, is now probing the question of responsibility and its report on the attack is due within the next few weeks.
The JIM has already determined that Syrian government forces were responsible for chlorine attacks on three villages in 2014 and 2015, and that Daesh terrorists used mustard gas in 2015.
Uzumcu told AFP he did not believe there would be any difference between the JIM’s findings on Khan Sheikhun and those of the OPCW’s fact-finding mission about the use of sarin.
“The challenge is of course to identify the actors of these attacks. They should certainly be held accountable, prosecuted and punished,” Uzumcu said.
“That’s the only way to keep strong the international norm against the use of chemical weapons,” he said.
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Sarin used in Syria 5 days before Khan Sheikhun: OPCW
Sarin used in Syria 5 days before Khan Sheikhun: OPCW
Leaders receive US invite for ‘Board of Peace’ to go beyond Gaza conflict
- The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board
- White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks
WASHINGTON: Leaders from several countries on Saturday received a letter inviting them to join a so-called US-led “Board of Peace” initiative that would initially aim to end conflict in Gaza but then be expanded to tackle conflicts elsewhere, diplomats said.
The White House on Friday announced some members of this board, which would outlive its role supervising the temporary governance of Gaza, under a fragile ceasefire since October.
The names include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump is the chair of the board, according to a plan his White House unveiled in October.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic administration will be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
Trump goes for global peace role
“It’s going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise,” President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
“... like — other countries that are going to war with each other,” Trump said when asked what its objective would be.
Many rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticized last year due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates International Cooperation Minister Reem Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of this board had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy — possibly a reference to Fidan’s presence, as Israel objects to Turkish involvement. The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
France, Germany, Egypt, Turkey among those invited
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where more than 450 Palestinians, including over 100 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed during the truce.
Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say this amounts to genocide. Israel has said it took action in self-defense after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.
Four sources said on Saturday that the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada were among those invited to sit on the Board of Peace.
The offices of the Egyptian and Turkish presidents confirmed they had been invited. An EU official said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been invited to represent the European Union.
Two diplomatic sources said the invitation letter included a “charter.”
“It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN charter,” said one diplomat aware of the letter, adding that it called the board a “bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict.”
The Board of Peace will also include private equity executive and billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy, will be the high representative for Gaza.
Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.
The White House on Friday announced some members of this board, which would outlive its role supervising the temporary governance of Gaza, under a fragile ceasefire since October.
The names include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Trump is the chair of the board, according to a plan his White House unveiled in October.
Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas signed off on Trump’s plan, which says a Palestinian technocratic administration will be overseen by an international board, which will supervise Gaza’s governance for a transitional period.
Trump goes for global peace role
“It’s going to, in my opinion, start with Gaza and then do conflicts as they arise,” President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview earlier this week.
“... like — other countries that are going to war with each other,” Trump said when asked what its objective would be.
Many rights experts and advocates have said that Trump overseeing a board to supervise a foreign territory’s governance resembles a colonial structure, while Blair’s involvement was criticized last year due to his role in the Iraq war and the history of British imperialism in the Middle East.
The White House did not detail the responsibilities of each member of the board. The names do not include any Palestinians. The White House said more members will be announced over the coming weeks.
It also named a separate, 11-member “Gaza Executive Board” to support the technocratic body, including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, UN Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates International Cooperation Minister Reem Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the composition of this board had not been coordinated with Israel and contradicted its policy — possibly a reference to Fidan’s presence, as Israel objects to Turkish involvement. The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
France, Germany, Egypt, Turkey among those invited
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of ceasefire violations in Gaza, where more than 450 Palestinians, including over 100 children, and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed during the truce.
Israel’s assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis and internally displaced Gaza’s entire population. Multiple rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry say this amounts to genocide. Israel has said it took action in self-defense after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in a late 2023 attack.
Four sources said on Saturday that the leaders of France, Germany, Australia and Canada were among those invited to sit on the Board of Peace.
The offices of the Egyptian and Turkish presidents confirmed they had been invited. An EU official said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been invited to represent the European Union.
Two diplomatic sources said the invitation letter included a “charter.”
“It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN charter,” said one diplomat aware of the letter, adding that it called the board a “bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict.”
The Board of Peace will also include private equity executive and billionaire Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Robert Gabriel, a Trump adviser, the White House said, adding that Nikolay Mladenov, a former UN Middle East envoy, will be the high representative for Gaza.
Army Major General Jasper Jeffers, a US special operations commander, was appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force, the White House said. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted in mid-November, authorized the board and countries working with it to establish that force in Gaza.
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