The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) released a new report on Wednesday that accused the Syrian military of using chemical weapons in Hama in 2017.
“The OPCW released today the findings of the first report by the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT). The IIT is responsible for identifying the perpetrators of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) has determined that chemical weapons have been used or likely used in Syria,” they reported.
According to the report, the Syrian Arab Air Force allegedly used the chemical weapons in the town of al-Latamnah, which is located just south of the administrative border of the Idleb Governorate. The town was a long-time stronghold of the Free Syrian Army’s (FSA) Jaish al-Izza faction.
The report reached the following conclusions:
“At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Mar. 24, 2017, an Su-22 military airplane belonging to the 50th Brigade of the 22nd Air Division of the Syrian Arab Air Force, departing from Shayrat airbase, dropped an M4000 aerial bomb containing sarin in southern al-Ltamenah, affecting at least 16 persons.
“At approximately 3:00 p.m. on Mar. 25, 2017, a helicopter of the Syrian Arab Air Force, departing from Hama airbase, dropped a cylinder on the al-Ltamenah hospital; the cylinder broke into the hospital through its roof, ruptured, and released chlorine, affecting at least 30 persons.
“At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Mar. 30, 2017, an Su-22 military plane belonging to the 50th Brigade of the 22nd Air Division of the Syrian Arab Air Force, departing from Shayrat airbase, dropped an M4000 aerial bomb containing sarin in southern al-Ltamenah, affecting at least 60 persons.”
The report itself concluded that, “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the perpetrators of the use of sarin as a chemical weapon in al-Ltamenah on Mar. 24 and 30, 2017, and the use of chlorine as a chemical weapon on Mar. 25, 2017, were individuals belonging to the Syrian Arab Air Force.”
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