Syria requests to join anti-chemical weapons partnership

DAMASCUS: Syria on Friday said it had requested to join the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons on the anniversary of a 2013 chemical attack on a suburb of the capital Damascus. In a joint statement with France, Syria announced its bid to join the partnership of dozens of countries, launched by Paris in January 2018 a day after reports of another chemical weapons attack in an area held by rebels fighting against former ruler Bashar Assad. France welcomed the step as 'a clear demonstration of Syria's commitment to strengthening accountability and justice and combating impunity' following its more than decade-long civil war. In August 2013, the Syrian army under Assad was accused of using chemical weapons to target areas then under rebel control. According to US intelligence and rights groups, more than 1,400 men, women and children died as a result. With Syria at the height of its civil war, the Assad government denied responsibility, but agreed to hand over its chemical arsenal in order to avert US strikes. Assad went on to remain in power for more than a decade, only to be ousted in 2024 by Islamist-led rebels, headed by now President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Survivors of the attacks, including medics, at the time risked their lives by posting dozens of videos online, and spoke to journalists including AFP reporters about the horror they had witnessed. The footage showed dozens of corpses, many of them children, outstretched on the ground. Other images showed unconscious children, people foaming at the mouth and doctors trying to help them breathe. The scenes provoked revulsion and condemnation around the globe. 'PAINFUL CHAPTER' A United Nations report later said there was clear evidence sarin gas had been used. Syria agreed to join the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and disclose and hand over its toxic stockpile under Russian and US pressure, averting the threat of strikes by Washington and its allies. But that was not the last of the chemical attacks: the OPCW went on to blame Assad's forces for others later in the civil war. Marking 13 years since the attack, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani called it 'one of the most painful chapters in Syria's history.' 'Tomorrow, the Syrian Arab Republic begins a new phase in dealing with the legacy of these weapons. We have initiated the necessary technical and logistical procedures for their disposal, in cooperation with our international partners,' he added, also vowing to pursue those involved in the attack. Several Syrian officers linked to the attack have been arrested since Assad's fall. Syria's civil war began in 2011, with a brutal crackdown on dissent that yielded an armed rebellion. More than half a million people ended up being killed, and millions more forced into exile. The OPCW reinstated Syria last month, five years after taking the unprecedented step of stripping it of its voting rights.