“UN reports confirms chemical weapons use in Syria” Author: Carrie Dann political reporter of (NBC News)
Date: September 17th, 2013
Introduction: A United Nations report released Monday confirmed that rockets loaded with sarin gas were used in an August 21 attack in Syria, although inspectors stopped short of saying who was responsible for the attack.
“Chemical weapons have been used in the ongoing conflict between the parties in the Syrian Arab Republic, also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale,” inspectors concluded in a 38-page report, which included analysis of chemical, environmental and medical samples.
Those samples provided “clear and convincing” evidence that rockets containing sarin were deployed in the area, the report said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told reporters after the release of the report that the results of the investigation are "overwhelming and indisputable," and he called the use of chemical weapons "a war crime."
But, he said, it is "for others to decide" whether to attempt to determine who perpetrated the attack.
“In the days leading up to August 21st, we know that Assad's chemical weapons personnel prepared for an attack near an area where they mix sarin gas,” President Barack Obama said in an address to the nation on September 10. They distributed gasmasks to their troops. Then they fired rockets from a regime-controlled area into 11 neighborhoods that the regime has been trying to wipe clear of opposition forces.”
Secretary of State John Kerry announced on September 1 that hair and blood samples collected from the site by first responders tested positive for signatures of sarin gas, a man-made chemical warfare agent that interferes with nerve signals to the muscles.
Analysis: Based on the evidence of this article, the chemical warfare in Syria has
