UNITED NATIONS: Experts from the UN and the chemical weapons watchdog said Syria’s government is responsible for a sarin nerve gas attack that killed over 90 people last April.
Their report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, said leaders of the expert body are “confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhoun on April 4, 2017.”
The report supports the initial findings by the United States, France and Britain that a Syrian military plane dropped a bomb with sarin on the town.
Syria and Russia, its close ally, have denied any attack and have strongly criticized the Joint Investigative Mechanism, known as the JIM, which was established by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria.
The attack in Khan Sheikhoun sparked outrage around the world as photos and video of the aftermath, including quivering children dying on camera, were widely broadcast.
The United States blamed the Syrian military and launched a punitive strike days later on the Shayrat air base, where it said the attack was launched.
Responding to the report, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said: “Today’s report confirms what we have long known to be true. Time and again, we see independent confirmation of chemical weapons use by the Assad regime.”
Clearly referring to Russia, she said: “In spite of these independent reports, we still see some countries trying to protect the regime. That must end now.”
The Security Council should make it clear that “the use of chemical weapons by anyone will not be tolerated,” Haley said.
A fact-finding mission by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons reported June 30 that sarin was used in the Khan Sheikhoun attack and “sulfur mustard” in Um Hosh. But the JIM experts had the task of determining who conducted the attacks.
The JIM experts said Thursday they are “confident” the Daesh extremist group was responsible for an attack in Um Hosh in Aleppo on Sept. 15-16, 2016, that used “sulfur mustard,” the chemical weapon commonly known as mustard gas.
In addition to blaming the Syrian government and the Daesh group, the JIM report says, “The continuing use of chemical weapons, including by non-state actors, is deeply disturbing.”
“If such use, in spite of the prohibition by the international community, is not stopped now, a lack of consequences will surely encourage others to follow — not only in the Syrian Arab Republic but also elsewhere,” it warned. “This is the time to bring these acts to an end.”
The report was issued two days after Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution to extend the mandate of the JIM investigators for another year after it expires Nov. 17.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow wanted to wait for the JIM report. “We can meaningfully negotiate the renewal of JIM after we have seen the report,” he told reporters Thursday before it came out.
Russia’s UN Mission said after its circulation: “We have started a thorough study of this paper, which is of very complex technical nature.”
Haley said countries that don’t support the JIM experts “are no better than the dictators or terrorists who use these terrible weapons.”
The investigators determined last year that the Syrian government was behind at least three attacks involving chlorine gas and that the Daesh extremist group was responsible for at least one involving mustard gas.
Louis Charbonneau, UN director for Human Rights Watch, said: “The question now is whether Security Council and OPCW members, including Russia, will move to protect a key international rule and hold Syrian authorities accountable as they said they would.”
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: “Britain condemns this appalling breach of the rules of war and calls on the international community to unite to hold Assad’s regime accountable.”
The report said the JIM experts talked with 17 witnesses in addition to those interviewed by the OPCW fact-finding mission and collected and reviewed material the OPCW did not have. It said the experts also obtained “substantial information” on activities by the Syrian air force on April 4.
The experts determined sarin was released from a crater in the northern part of Khan Sheikhoun between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. April 4.
Based on photos, videos and satellite images as well as studies of munition remnants by forensic institutes and individual experts hired by the JIM, the experts “assessed that the crater was most probably caused by a heavy object traveling at a high velocity, such as an aerial bomb with a small explosive charge,” the report said.
The possibility that an improvised explosive device caused the crater “could not be completely ruled out,” but the experts determined that was “less likely” because an IED “would have caused more damage to the surroundings than had been observed at the scene.”
The report said the investigators received information that Syrian air force planes “may have been in a position to launch aerial bombs in the vicinity” of the town. But it said air force flight records and other records provided by Syria’s government made no mention of Khan Sheikhoun. The experts said they received “conflicting information” about aircraft deployments in the town that morning.
The experts also obtained “original video footage from two separate witnesses that showed four plumes caused by explosives across Khan Sheikhoun,” the report said. It said forensic analysis confirmed the footage was made during the time of the sarin attack.
According to the report, the JIM leadership panel concluded the Syrian military was behind the sarin attack based on the following “sufficient, credible and reliable evidence”:
— Aircraft dropped munitions over Khan Sheikhoun between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on April 4
— Syrian aircraft were “in the immediate vicinity” at that time.
— The crater was created that morning.
— The crater “was caused by the impact of an aerial bomb traveling at high velocity.”
— The number of people affected and the presence of sarin at the crater 10 days later “indicate that a large amount of sarin was likely released, which is consistent with it being dispersed via a chemical aerial bomb”
— The symptoms of victims, their treatment and the scale of the incident “are consistent with a large-scale intoxication of sarin.”
— Sarin samples from Khan Sheikhoun were “most likely” made with a precursor chemical that was from “the original stockpile of the Syrian Arab Republic.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterates “his full confidence in the professionalism, impartiality and objectivity” of the JIM and looks forward to the Security Council’s consideration of the report Nov. 7, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
UN report finds Syrian regime responsible for sarin attack
UN report finds Syrian regime responsible for sarin attack
Israel says intercepted projectile fired from Yemen
- “Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception”
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Tuesday it had intercepted a projectile fired from Yemen after air raid sirens sounded in the center and south of Israel.
“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago, a projectile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted prior to crossing into Israeli territory,” the Israeli army said on Telegram.
“Rocket and missile sirens were sounded following the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception.”
Israel’s emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, reported no injuries from the projectile.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday warned the Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen, who last week fired two missiles at Israel, including one that injured 16 people in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv on Saturday.
“I have instructed our forces to destroy the infrastructure of Houthis, because anyone who tries to harm us will be struck with full force,” he told lawmakers, “even if it takes time.”
Israeli warplanes retaliated against ports and energy infrastructure, which the military said contributed to Houthi rebel operations, after a rebel missile badly damaged an Israeli school last week.
The Houthis said the Israeli strikes killed nine people.
Sudan drops out of hunger-monitor system on eve of famine report
- Sudan’s withdrawal from the IPC system could undermine humanitarian efforts to help millions of Sudanese suffering from extreme hunger, said the leader of a non-governmental organization operating there, speaking on condition of anonymity
KHARTOUM: The Sudanese government has suspended its participation in the global hunger-monitoring system on the eve of a report that’s expected to show famine spreading across the country, a step likely to undercut efforts to address one of the world’s largest hunger crises.
In a letter dated Dec. 23, the government’s agriculture minister said the government is halting its participation in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system. The letter accused the IPC of “issuing unreliable reports that undermine Sudan’s sovereignty and dignity.”
On Tuesday, the IPC is expected to publish a report finding that famine has spread to five areas in Sudan and could expand to 10 by May, according to a briefing document seen by Reuters. “This marks an unprecedented deepening and widening of the food and nutrition crisis, driven by the devastating conflict and poor humanitarian access,” the document stated.
A spokesperson for the Rome-based IPC declined to comment.
Sudan’s withdrawal from the IPC system could undermine humanitarian efforts to help millions of Sudanese suffering from extreme hunger, said the leader of a non-governmental organization operating there, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Withdrawal from the IPC system won’t change the reality of hunger on the ground,” the NGO source said. “But it does deprive the international community of its compass to navigate Sudan’s hunger crisis. Without independent analysis, we’re flying blind into this storm of food insecurity.”
A diplomat with Sudan’s mission to the United Nations in New York didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the move to cut off the IPC.
The IPC is an independent body funded by Western nations and overseen by 19 large humanitarian organizations and intergovernmental institutions. A linchpin in the world’s vast system for monitoring and alleviating hunger, it is designed to sound the alarm about developing food crises so organizations can respond and prevent famine and mass starvation.
IPC analysts typically partner with national governments to analyze data related to food insecurity and to report on conditions within a country’s borders. The government has headed the IPC’s analysis group in Sudan. But the system has increasingly struggled to function since civil war erupted in April 2023.
The fighting between the army-backed government and its foe, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, has disrupted data collection in areas held by both sides.
A recent Reuters investigation found that the Sudanese government obstructed the IPC’s work earlier this year, delaying by months a famine determination for the sprawling Zamzam camp for internally displaced people where some have resorted to eating tree leaves to survive.
Monday’s letter was addressed to the IPC and it s Famine Review Committee, which vets and verifies a famine finding, as well as to diplomats. It says the forthcoming IPC report lacks updated malnutrition data and assessments of crop productivity during the recent summer rainy season.
The growing season was successful, the letter says.
It also notes “serious concerns” about the IPC’s ability to collect data from territories controlled by the RSF.
The IPC’s struggles go beyond Sudan. In a series of reports this year, Reuters has reported that authorities in Myanmar and Yemen have also tried to thwart the global hunger-monitoring process by blocking or falsifying the flow of data to the IPC or suppressing its findings.
In Myanmar, the IPC recently scrubbed from its website its assessment on hunger there, fearing for the safety of researchers. Reuters recently reported that representatives of the country’s ruling military junta have warned aid workers against releasing data and analysis showing that millions in Myanmar are experiencing serious hunger.
In Ethiopia, the government disliked an IPC finding in 2021 that 350,000 people were experiencing catastrophic acute food insecurity – so it stopped working with the IPC.
Alex de Waal, executive director of the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, called Sudan’s move to stop cooperating with the IPC “both pathetic and tragic.”
“It’s part of a long history of the government of Sudan denying famine going back more than 40 years,” said de Waal, a leading specialist on famine. “Whenever there’s a famine in Sudan, they consider it an affront to their sovereignty, and they’re more concerned about their pride and their control than they are over the lives of their citizens.”
Iraq says to eliminate pollutant gas flaring by end of 2027
- The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in a statement Monday evening pointed to “a rise in the level of eliminating gas flaring” in the country
BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities on Monday announced that the energy-rich country would eliminate the polluting practice of gas flaring by the end of 2027, a statement from the prime minister’s office said.
Gas flaring during the production or processing of crude is intended to convert excess methane to carbon dioxide, but the process is often incomplete, resulting in further methane release.
Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.
The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in a statement Monday evening pointed to “a rise in the level of eliminating gas flaring” in the country.
The office said that the current rate of elimination stood at 67 percent, with the aim of raising that rate to 80 percent by the end of 2025.
It added that the country aims to fully eliminate gas flaring by the end of 2027, compared to the previous administration’s target of 2030.
In 2017, Iraq joined a World Bank-led initiative aiming to end gas flaring globally by 2030.
Gas flaring is cheaper than capturing the associated gas, processing and marketing it.
In an April report, Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa said gas flaring “produces a number of cancer-linked pollutants including benzene.”
Iraq is considered by the United Nations to be one of the five countries most vulnerable to some impacts of climate change.
In recent years, it has suffered increasingly from droughts and further desertification, with the country gripped by dust storms much of the year.
Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader in Iran
- The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh
- Katz said the Houthis leadership would meet a similar fate to that of Haniyeh
JERUSALEM: Israel’s defense minister has confirmed that Israel assassinated Hamas’ top leader last summer and is threatening to take similar action against the leadership of the Houthi group in Yemen.
The comments by Israel Katz appeared to mark the first time that Israel has admitted killing Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Iran in July.
Israel was widely believed to be behind the blast, and leaders have previously hinted at its involvement.
In a speech Monday, Katz said the Houthis would meet a similar fate as the other members of an Iranian-led alliance in the region, including Haniyeh.
He also noted that Israel has killed other leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, helped topple Syria’s Bashar Assad, and destroyed Iran’s anti-aircraft systems.
“We will strike (the Houthis’) strategic infrastructure and cut off the head of the leadership,” he said.
“Just like we did to Haniyeh, Sinwar, and Nasrallah in Tehran, Gaza, and Lebanon, we will do in Hodeida and Sanaa,” he said, referring to Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed in previous Israeli attacks.
The Iranian-backed Houthis have launched scores of missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war, including a missile that landed in Tel Aviv on Saturday and wounded at least 16 people.
Israel has carried out three sets of airstrikes in Yemen during the war and vowed to step up the pressure on the militant group until the missile attacks stop.
New conflict in northeast Syria could bring ‘dramatic consequences’, UN envoy says
- Turkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union
BEIRUT: Tensions in northeast Syria between Kurdish-led authorities and Turkish-backed groups should be resolved politically or risk “dramatic consequences” for all of Syria, the United Nations envoy for the country Geir Pedersen told Reuters on Monday. Hostilities have escalated between Syrian rebels backed by Ankara and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast since Bashar Assad was toppled on Dec. 8.
Syrian armed groups seized the city of Manbij from the SDF on Dec. 9 and could be preparing to attack the key city of Kobani, or Ayn Al-Arab, on the northern border with Turkiye.
“If the situation in the northeast is not handled correctly, it could be a very bad omen for the whole of Syria,” Pedersen said by phone, adding that “if we fail here, it would have dramatic consequences when it comes to new displacement.” The SDF — which is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG — has proposed to withdraw its forces from the area in exchange for a complete truce. But Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking alongside Syria’s de facto new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Sunday in Damascus, said the YPG should disband totally.
Turkiye regards the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.
Pedersen said a political solution “would require serious, serious compromises” and should be part of the “transitional phase” led by Syria’s new authorities in Damascus. Fidan said he had discussed the YPG presence with the new Syrian administration and believed Damascus would take steps to ensure Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the country will remain in close dialogue with Sharaa. Kurdish groups have had autonomy across much of the northeast since Syria’s war began in 2011, but now fear it could be wiped out by the country’s new Islamist rule. Thousands of women rallied on Monday in a northeast city to condemn Turkiye and demand their rights be respected.
Pedersen said Sharaa had told him in meetings in Damascus last week that they were committed to “transitional arrangements that will be inclusive of all.”
But he said resolving tensions in the northeast would be a test for a new Syria after more than a half-century of Assad family rule.
“The whole question of creating a new, free Syria would be off to a very, extremely ... to put it diplomatically, difficult start,” he said.
