UNITED NATIONS: Britain’s UN ambassador called Friday for sanctions against Syria after international chemical weapons investigators declared the Syrian government responsible for a sarin nerve gas attack that killed over 90 people last spring.
But it’s not clear what action, if any, would pass muster with veto-wielding Syrian ally Russia, which dismissed the experts’ findings as inconsistent and unpersuasive. And while the British envoy said the Security Council needs to “impose accountability,” his French counterpart focused on finding common ground on an issue that has spurred a series of Russian vetoes.
The attack in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in April sparked outrage around the world and a US strike days later on the Shayrat air base, where Washington said the attack had been launched. Syria’s government has denied involvement.
But the investigators’ new report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, says experts are “confident” Damascus was behind the sarin strike, based on photos, videos and satellite images as well as studies of munition remnants. The report was done by what’s known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism, or JIM, which the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons established to determine responsibility for chemical attacks in Syria.
The report also blamed the Daesh extremist group for a September mustard gas attack in Um Hosh in Aleppo.
In light of the findings, British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said Friday that the Security Council needs to follow through on a 2013 vow to respond to any chemical attacks in Syria with use of a UN charter chapter that generally amounts to sanctions.
“It now falls on the Security Council to act on these findings and to deliver justice,” he said, exhorting Russian officials “to find their moral compass and join the Security Council in following up this use of sarin by the regime and making sure, once and for all, that all those responsible are held to account.”
Britain, France and the United States spearheaded an effort last winter to ban helicopter sales to Syria and impose an asset freeze and travel ban on 11 Syrian military officers and others over prior chemical attacks; Russia and China vetoed that measure. US Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was traveling in Africa on Friday, said in response to the new report that the council should make it clear that chemical weapons use by anyone “will not be tolerated.”
French Ambassador Francois Delattre vowed accountability for those responsible for the Khan Sheikhoun attack. As for whether that means a sanctions effort, he said discussions were ongoing, but “the key priority now is to recreate consensus.”
The report came days after Russia vetoed a proposal to extend the JIM’s work, with Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia saying that the matter should wait for the findings and that Moscow will insist on amending the group’s mandate to ensure “the professionalism and impartiality that we want to see.”
Russia has questioned the JIM’s methods, and Moscow has said its own analysis of photos of the Khan Sheikhoun attack site suggest that what happened was not an airstrike, but an explosion on the ground.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the JIM had ignored Moscow’s input.
“The report includes completely contradictory conclusions” that “are not supported by any convincing argument,” the ministry said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Jim Heintz contributed from Moscow.
Britain urges UN to act on report blaming Syria for chemical attack
Britain urges UN to act on report blaming Syria for chemical attack
Palestinians in Jenin observe a general strike
- The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.
Qatari minister arrives in Damascus on first Qatar Airways flight since Assad’s fall
DUBAI: Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs arrived in Damascus on Monday on the first Qatar Airways flight to the Syrian capital since the fall of President Bashar Assad two weeks ago, Doha’s foreign ministry said.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Mohammed Al-Khulaifi was the most senior official of the Gulf Arab state to visit Syria since militants toppled the Assad family’s 54-year-long rule.
Iran foreign ministry affirms support for Syria’s sovereignty
- Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus
TEHRAN: Iran affirmed its support for Syria’s sovereignty on Monday, and said the country should not become “a haven for terrorism” after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“Our principled position on Syria is very clear: preserving the sovereignty and integrity of Syria and for the people of Syria to decide on its future without destructive foreign interference,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly press briefing.
He added that the country should not “become a haven for terrorism,” saying such an outcome would have “repercussions” for countries in the region.
Assad fled Syria earlier this month as rebel forces led by the Sunni Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) entered the capital Damascus after a lightning offensive.
The takeover by HTS — proscribed as a terrorist organization by many governments including the United States — has sparked concern, though the group has in recent years sought to moderate its image.
Headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa, Syria’s new leader and an ardent opponent of Iran, the group has spoken out against the Islamic republic’s influence in Syria under Assad.
Tehran helped prop up Assad during Syria’s long civil war, providing him with military advisers.
During Monday’s press briefing, Baqaei said Iran had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers.
Sharaa has received a host of foreign delegations since coming to power.
He met on Sunday with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, and on Monday with Jordan’s top diplomat Ayman Safadi.
On Friday, the United States’ top diplomat for the Middle East Barbara Leaf held a meeting with Sharaa, later saying she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran in its affairs.
A handful of European delegations have also visited in recent days.
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which has long supported Syria’s opposition, is expected to send a delegation soon, according to Syria’s ambassador in Riyadh.
Iran says ‘no direct contact’ with Syria rulers
- Foreign ministry spokesman: ‘We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria’
TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it had “no direct contact” with Syria’s new rulers after the fall of president Bashar Assad, a longtime Tehran ally.
“We have no direct contact with the ruling authority in Syria,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press briefing.
Jordan FM holds talks with Syria’s new leader, calls for inclusive government
- It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Bashar Assad’s fall
- Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts
AMMAN: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi urged the formation of a Syrian government that represents all factions, during his meeting with Syria’s new leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Monday,
He emphasized the need for a comprehensive political process to resolve the ongoing crisis and called on the United Nations to step in and assist Syria. The minister also reaffirmed Jordan's readiness to support efforts aimed at rebuilding the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, Safadi expressed concern over Israel's growing involvement in Syria, warning that it is exacerbating regional conflicts.
It was the first visit by a senior Jordanian official since Assad’s fall.
Jordan, which borders Syria to the south, hosted a summit earlier this month where top Arab, Turkish, EU and US diplomats called for an inclusive and peaceful transition after years of civil war.
Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad on December 8, has welcomed senior officials from a host of countries in the Middle East and beyond in recent days.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohamed Momani told reporters on Sunday that Amman “sides with the will of the brotherly Syrian people,” stressing the close ties between the two nations.
Momani said the kingdom would like to see security and stability restored in Syria, and supported “the unity of its territories.”
Stability in war-torn Syria was in Jordan’s interests, Momani said, and would “ensure security on its borders.”
Some Syrians who had fled the war since 2011 and sought refuge in Jordan have begun returning home, according to Jordanian authorities.
The interior ministry said Thursday that more than 7,000 Syrians had left, out of some 1.3 million refugees Amman says it has hosted.
According to the United Nations, 680,000 Syrian refugees were registered with it in Jordan.
Jordan in recent years has tightened border controls in a crackdown on drug and weapon smuggling along its 375-kilometer border with Syria.
One of the main drugs smuggled is the amphetamine-like stimulant captagon, for which there is huge demand in the oil-rich Gulf.
