THE HAGUE: The head of the world’s chemical weapons watchdog on Monday defended a report into an alleged chlorine attack in Syria, despite allegations of a cover-up by a whistleblower.
Wikileaks published an email from a member of the team that investigated the attack in the town of Douma in April 2018, which accused the body of altering the original findings of investigators to make evidence of a chemical attack seem more conclusive.
Russia and its allies have seized on the email and an earlier document which both question the conclusion by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in March 2019 that chlorine was used in Douma.
The row added to tensions at the OPCW’s annual meeting in The Hague over a new team that will shortly name culprits for attacks in Syria for the first time.
“It is in the nature of any thorough inquiry for individuals in a team to express subjective views,” OPCW Director General Fernando Arias told member countries.
“While some of these diverse views continue to circulate in some public discussion forums, I would like to reiterate that I stand by the independent, professional conclusion” of the probe.
First responders said 40 people were killed in Douma.
Britain, France and the United States unleashed missile attacks on suspected chemical weapons facilities run by President Bashar Assad’s regime after the attack.
Russia and Syria have alleged that the incident was staged to provide a pretext for Western military action.
The leaked email by an investigator going by the alias “Alex” and quoted by Wikileaks expresses the “gravest concern,” saying the OPCW report “misrepresents the facts” and contains “unintended bias.”
The email, written in 2018, says the OPCW report changed the language on the levels of chlorine allegedly found compared to what investigators originally wrote, to make it appear that the presence of the chemical was more conclusive than it was.
It also focuses on whether or not the chemical came from barrels found at the scene, and whether those barrels had been dropped from the air — which would indicate Assad’s forces — or placed manually there — which would indicate it was staged by Syrian rebels.
The OPCW earlier this year launched an internal investigation into the leak of another document by a member of the Douma team raising similar concerns.
Syria agreed to hand over its chemical arsenal in 2013 to avoid US and French air strikes in retaliation for a suspected sarin attack that killed 1,400 people in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.
But the OPCW says there have been further attacks since then.
Despite opposition from Syria and its allies, OPCW states voted in 2018 to give the organization new powers to pin blame on culprits for the use of toxic arms.
Details of the Douma incident have been passed to a new team set up to name the perpetrators, Arias said.
Moscow and its allies are now threatening to block next year’s OPCW budget if it includes funding for the team, which could effectively shut down the watchdog.
China’s ambassador to the OPCW Xu Hong said the new identification team risked turning the watchdog into a “political tool.”
OPCW chief Arias however said it was a “key responsibility of the conference to ensure that the organization has a budget in order for it to operate next year.”
Western nations believe the budget will pass with a large majority, as it did last year.
Tensions have also been high since four Russian spies were expelled from the Netherlands in 2018 for allegedly trying to hack into the OPCW’s computers.
Russia and the West may however reach agreement on the thorny issue of whether to extend the list of banned chemical weapons for the first time to include new “novichoks” — the Soviet-era nerve agent used in the 2018 Salisbury attacks.
London blamed Moscow for the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
The OPCW won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 and says it has eliminated 97 percent of the world’s chemical weapons.
Chemical warfare watchdog hits back at Syria report doubts
Chemical warfare watchdog hits back at Syria report doubts
- Wikileaks published an email from a member of the team that investigated the attack in the town of Douma in April 2018
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Qatari emir holds calls with Iranian and US presidents, condemns targeting Al-Udaid
- Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said Iran’s action contradicted the principles of good neighborliness
- Masoud Pezeshkian expressed regret to Sheikh Tamim for the damages caused by Monday’s attack
- Donald Trump rejected ‘any aggression that threatens the security and safety of the State of Qatar’
LONDON: The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, received separate phone calls from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday following the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ missile attack on Al-Udeid Air Base.
Sheikh Tamim strongly condemned the Iranian attack at the outset of his call with Pezeshkian. He said the act was “a blatant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and airspace, as well as a breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
The IRGC on Monday night fired missiles at Al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military base in the Middle East, accommodating about 10,000 service members, located 30 kilometers southwest of Doha. The attack was a retaliatory action after the US hit three of Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Sheikh Tamim said that Iran’s action contradicted the principles of good neighborliness and highlighted Doha’s ongoing commitment to dialogue with Iran.
He urged an immediate halt to military operations and a return to negotiations to resolve the crisis and ensure regional security and safety, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Pezeshkian expressed regret to Sheikh Tamim for the damage caused by Monday’s attack. He said that Qatar and its people were not the intended targets of the military operation and that “the attack does not constitute a threat” to Qatar.
Sheikh Tamim also spoke with Trump, who affirmed Washington’s solidarity with Doha after the Iranian attack and rejected “any aggression that threatens the security and safety of the State of Qatar and undermines the security and stability of the region.”
During the call with Sheikh Tamim, Trump urged restraint and seeking diplomatic solutions.
Sheikh Tamim thanked Trump for the supportive stance of the United States. He also mentioned that the readiness of the Qatari armed forces and the precautionary measures authorities took resulted in no fatalities or injuries.
Lebanon’s prime minister hails success in staying out of Iran-Israel conflict
- War prevented in Lebanon but true stability demands departure of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, Nawaf Salam says during visit to Doha
- ‘We are striving to use all available political and diplomatic forces to pressure Israel’ into withdrawing, he adds
BEIRUT: During an official visit to Qatar on Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the fact that his country had managed to avoid being pulled into the conflict between Iran and Israel that began on June 13.
When he met the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Salam hailed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran announced on Monday, and thanked Doha for its efforts to help end the hostilities. Both leaders agreed that the end of the conflict would help foster stability in Lebanon, Palestine and the wider Gulf region, the prime minister’s media office said.
During a joint press conference with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Salam said: “We in Lebanon, all of us, have succeeded in preventing the country from being drawn into a new war amid the ongoing regional conflict over the past two weeks.
“Now, with military operations having ceased, we look forward to turning a new page focused on diplomatic efforts.”
Israel has been accused of ramping up strikes on targets in southern Lebanon amid its conflict with Iran, and near-daily violations of a November ceasefire agreement that ended its 14-month war with Hezbollah.
Salam arrived in Doha on Tuesday morning, the day after Iran’s attack on a US military base in Qatar caused his flight to be diverted to Bahrain. He resumed his journey when airspace reopened and was the first passenger to land at the city’s airport following the previous day’s incident.
He condemned the attack on Qatar and expressed his full solidarity with the leadership of the country and its people. He also described the Israeli aggression against Iran as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and a breach of international law.
Addressing the possibility of renewed Hezbollah involvement in conflicts, Salam said: “The Lebanese state will extend its authority, through its own forces, over all Lebanese territory, as stipulated in the Taif Agreement.”
He added that “true stability cannot be achieved unless Israel fully withdraws from the Lebanese territories it continues to occupy, known as the Five Points.”
During talks with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed, Salam thanked Qatar for its “continued support for the Lebanese army.” They addressed the need for intensified international and regional efforts to halt repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and reiterated calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from occupied Lebanese territories, reconstruction efforts, and the full restoration of Lebanese sovereignty over all of its territory.
Regarding the possibility that Lebanon could ask Qatar and Turkiye to put diplomatic pressure on Israel to withdraw from its positions in Lebanese territory, Salam said: “We are striving to use all available political and diplomatic forces to pressure Israel, beginning with our Arab brothers and extending to the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the United States.”
He highlighted reported Israeli violations of the November ceasefire deal and called for international pressure on the state “to respect and implement that agreement.”
Qatari officials offered their support for efforts to address the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, and are considering “practical plans that would allow for a safe and dignified return to their homes,” Salam’s media office said.
The prime minister led a delegation during his trip to Qatar that included Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh, Minister of Energy and Water Joe Saddi, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamni, and Minister of State for Administrative Reform Fadi Makki.
Syria welcomes EU sanctions against former Assad security officials
- The EU has imposed sanctions on Suhail al-Hassan, Ghiyath Dallah, Miqdad Fathiyeh, Mudallal Khoury, Imad Khoury
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs say they repeatedly assaulted Syrian security personnel, civilians
LONDON: The Syrian Arab Republic has welcomed an EU decision to impose sanctions on former security figures in former dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, which collapsed in December 2024.
Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision reflected a growing acknowledgment of the extent of the violations committed by former figures in the Assad regime against Syrians and their role in fueling violent sectarian events.
The EU has imposed sanctions on Suhail al-Hassan, Ghiyath Dallah, Miqdad Fathiyeh, Mudallal Khoury and Imad Khoury. The ministry said the five were involved in committing serious crimes against Syrians and, in March, played a direct role in fueling sectarian strife in the coastal towns of Banias, Latika and Jableh.
It added they had repeatedly assaulted Syrian security personnel and civilians and attempted to destabilize the coastal areas.
The ministry said a report investigating the coastal events would be submitted to the presidency and those responsible would be held accountable.
“The Syrian government reiterates its commitment to prosecute all those involved in these crimes, wherever they may be, inside or outside the country, to ensure that they are brought to justice and that the victims receive justice,” it said in a statement.
Explosion heard in Damascus, Syrian security forces confirm leftover munitions detonation
- Residents had heard a loud blast and saw a plume of smoke rising in the western neighborhoods of the city
DAMASCUS: Syrian security forces detonated leftover munitions as part of a training exercise in the capital Damascus on Tuesday, a security source said, creating an explosion that was heard across the city.
The source from Syria’s General Security Service, which is broadly responsible for security matters, told Reuters no-one was wounded in the controlled blast.
Residents had heard a loud blast and saw a plume of smoke rising in the western neighborhoods of the city early on Tuesday evening.
UNRWA chief says cash flow crisis may force him into ‘unprecedented decision’
- Philippe Lazzarini said the UNRWA faced a $200 million deficit
- “Without additional funding I will soon have to take an unprecedented decision affecting our services to Palestinian refugees“
GENEVA: The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday he may have to take an “unprecedented decision” about the services it provides if funding is not found soon to ease a cash flow crisis.
Philippe Lazzarini said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) faced a $200 million deficit.
“Cash flow is managed on a weekly basis,” he told reporters in Berlin. “Without additional funding I will soon have to take an unprecedented decision affecting our services to Palestinian refugees.”
Lazzarini gave no further details of what that decision might entail.
The United States was UNRWA’s biggest donor but President Donald Trump announced broad cuts in foreign aid, including to UNRWA, earlier this year.
Other Western governments’ aid budgets are also under pressure following calls by Trump for more spending on defense as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on.
UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Lazzarini said that two weeks ago he had been about to suspend 10,000-15,000 UNRWA staff in the region because of the cash flow crisis but an advance contribution from a donor had given the agency respite for the next two months.
“Just to process the payroll of our staff we need $60 million a month. We have no visibility anymore beyond September,” he added.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has requested a strategic assessment of the impact of the UNRWA mandate and will propose how the right of Palestinian refugees can be protected, Lazzarini said.
Israel has banned UNRWA from operating on its territory, accusing it of employing members of Palestinian militant group Hamas who took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel that led to the war in Gaza.
UNRWA said as the ban went into effect this year that operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank would also suffer.
The UN has said it will investigate all accusations made by Israel and asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been forthcoming. Lazzarini has said that UNRWA has been the target of a disinformation campaign.
