Arab League: Syria chemical attack a 'major crime'; UK says all evidence point to Assad

Arab News | April 5,2017 CAIRO/VATICAN/BEIRUT: International outcry grew louder on Wednesday against a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, with Pope Francis describing it as an “unacceptable massacre” and the Arab League calling it a “major crime”. NATO and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also weighed in, calling for an investigation to hold to account those responsible for the attack that left more than 70 dead in Syria’s Idlib province on Tuesday. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said the international community is itself to blame for allowing such acts to happen. “The world should not be shocked because it’s letting such a regime do what it is doing. What should shock us is the increase of children dying and that the whole world is watching,” he told reporters at a Syria donor conference in Belgium. Hariri also said that Lebanon has been overwhelmed by the arrival of some 1.5 million Syrian refugees and “cannot sustain this issue anymore. The international community has to do something.” At his midweek public audience in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Pope Francis said: “I completely deplore the unacceptable massacre that took place in Idlib province yesterday, where dozens of defenseless people, including many children, were killed.” The 80-year-old pontiff spoke out as Russia and Western powers disputed what happened at Khan Sheikhun, where at least 20 children were among those who have died. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday’s air strike on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province was likely carried out by regime warplanes, a charge the regime denied. Turkey’s health minister says some 30 Syrians have been brought to the Turkish city of Gaziantep, bordering Syria, for treatment following the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. Recep Akdag said Wednesday that initial symptoms and findings confirm that the wounded were the victims of a chemical attack. His comments were reported by the Haber Turk news channel. ‘Evidence point to Assad’ Russia, which has provided military and diplomatic backing for Syrian President Bashar Assad in his fight against the opposition fighters, said the deaths occurred after regime forces bombarded a “terrorist warehouse” containing “toxic substances.” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, however, insisted that “all the evidence” pointed to Assad’s regime “using illegal weapons on their own people.” Johnson also says that he does “not see how a government like that can continue to have any kind of legitimate administration over the people of Syria.” He added that he “would like to see those culpable pay a price for this.” In Cairo, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said “targeting and killing civilians with these prohibited methods is considered a major crime and a barbaric act.” A “Whoever carried it out will not escape from justice, and must be punished by the international community according to international law and international humanitarian law,” hesaid, without specifying who he held responsible. The Arab League suspended Syria’s membership at the end of 2011 following months of brutal repression of anti-regime demonstrations and an opposition movement supported by Gulf monarchies. Investigation pushed UN’s Guterres said the global body would seek to establish who was to blame for a deadly episode, which he said had “demonstrated that war crimes are going on in Syria.” Guterres told reporters at a Syria donor conference in Brussels on Wednesday that he hopes “this moment will be able to mobilize the capacity of all those that have responsibilities in this situation.” He said “the horrific events of yesterday demonstrate that unfortunately war crimes are going on in Syria, that international humanitarian law remains being violated frequently.” He added he is “confident that the Security Council will live up to its responsibilities,” with major powers set to convene there later in the day. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement Wednesday that “this is the third report of the use of these barbaric weapons in the last month alone.” He said Syria “is responsible to ensure its full compliance with these obligations.” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has called on Russia to endorse a planned United Nations Security Council resolution condemning a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. Gabriel said Wednesday in Brussels before the opening of the international conference on the Syria conflict that, “We appeal to Russia to approve this resolution, to investigate this case and to bring to justice those who are responsible.” The UN Security Council is to convene for an emergency meeting over a suspected deadly chemical attack in a town in northern Syria earlier this week, where at least 72 people were reported killed, including 11 children. Nearly 400,000 people have been killed and half of Syria’s population has been displaced by the six-year conflict.