Quote:
In the early days of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ investigation of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, expert toxicologists ruled out chlorine gas as the cause of death for the more than 40 civilians reported at the scene. Instead of publishing this finding, senior OPCW officials concealed it, and then launched an investigation of a veteran inspector who questioned the censorship.
More than three years later, the high-level campaign of censorship and muzzling has mired the world’s top chemical weapons watchdog in scandal.
The manipulation began when the OPCW’s Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) produced a 115-page report in June 2018. The report found no evidence of a chemical weapons attack in Douma. This undermined the stated pretext for US-led air strikes on Syria two months prior, and raised the possibility that insurgents had staged the April 7, 2018 incident to frame the Syrian government.
But as leaked documents later revealed, the team’s original report was kept from the public. Instead, senior OPCW officials tried to rush out a replacement, doctored version that falsely claimed evidence of chemical weapons use.
Quote:
On April 7, 2018, gruesome photos and videos emerged from Douma, which was then occupied by the Saudi-backed jihadi militia Jaysh-al-Islam and under bombardment from Syrian army forces attempting to retake control. Dead civilians, including infants, were filmed strewn in piles across the floors of an apartment building. Many had copious frothing oozing from their mouths and noses. Several displayed unusual skin discoloration around the eyes, and victims were filmed lying in unnatural positions. A gas cylinder was filmed above a crater on the top floor, which insurgent-tied groups claimed was evidence of a Syrian army chemical attack. Without waiting for an international inquiry or UN authorization, the US, UK, and France bombed Syria in purported retaliation.
In March 2019, the OPCW seemingly vindicated allegations of Syrian government guilt. After an almost eleven-month probe, the OPCW issued a final report which claimed that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that a chlorine gas attack had taken place.
Although that finding effectively accused Syrian forces of dropping the cylinders seen in Douma, the report included a conspicuous admission. “It is not currently possible,” it said, “to precisely link the cause of the signs and symptoms” of the Douma victims “to a specific chemical.”