U.N. Confirms Sarin Gas Killed Civilians in Damascus
UNITED NATIONS—A U.N. weapons inspectors' report confirmed that rockets filled with sarin gas were responsible for killing a large number of civilians on Aug. 21 in Damascus, in an incident that brought the U.S. to the brink of war in Syria.
The report, based on physical samples and interviews with survivors and witnesses, says "several surface-to-surface rockets capable of delivering significant chemical payloads were identified" at the site of the attack.
"Samples later confirmed to contain Sarin were recovered from a majority of the rockets or rocket fragments," the report said.
"Environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin was used in Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zamalka in the Ghouta area of Damascus," the report said.
The inspectors said that 330-mm caliber rockets fired into one neighborhood likely came from the same multiple-rocket launcher. The resulting craters were small, indicating that the rockets were carrying chemical weapons rather than explosives.
The rockets had the markings 97-179 and what appear to be Cyrillic letters and numbers on the bottom ring of an engine, the report said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether these markings relate to munitions in the Syrian government arsenal or whether opposition fighters could have had access to such munitions.
The U.N. team was mandated only with determining whether and what kind of chemical agent was used in the attack, and not who was to blame.
Responsibility for the attack has been at the heart of the debate about whether the U.S. military should punish the government of President Bashar al-Assad and degrade his capability to use chemical weapons.
The U.N. inspectors' findings could also influence Congress in any pending vote on military action. French President François Hollande said that France's final decision on whether to take part in a military operation would wait until the U.N. inspectors report.
A deal was reached between the U.S. and Russia in Geneva on Saturday to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons, but that accord could break down over how to implement such a move, and U.S. forces are still in the region poised to strike.
The inspectors said that the fragments they studied "have clearly been handled/moved prior to the arrival of the investigation team."
In addition to rocket fragments, the inspectors took numerous physical samples—including from the sole of a slipper, from the head scarf of a victim and from the fabric of a pillow.
The inspectors visited the site during arranged five-hour cease-fires over three days, from Aug. 26 to Aug. 29. The team obtained statements from 50 survivors of the attack.
"Survivors reported an attack with shelling, followed by the onset of a common range of symptoms, include shortness of breath, disorientation … eye irritation, blurred vision … [and] vomiting," among other symptoms, the report said.
Nine nurses and seven doctors interviewed said they saw shortly after the attack "a large number of ill or deceased persons lying in the streets without external signs of injury."
Weather conditions kept the gas close to the ground, maximizing its effectiveness, the report said.
