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2018 Douma chemical attack
Part of the Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018), Siege of Eastern Ghouta, (Syrian Civil War)
Type	Chemical attack
Location	Douma, Rif Dimashq Governorate, Syria 33°34′16″N 36°24′17″E / 33.57111°N 36.40472°E / 33.57111; 36.40472
Date	7 April 2018 06:30 (UTC+03:00)
Executed by	Currently under investigation
Casualties	48–70+ killed 500+ injured
DoumaLocation of Douma within Syria

On 7 April 2018, a reported chemical attack was carried out in the Syrian city of Douma, with about 42 - 70 people allegedly killed. The Syrian government and its allies deny chemical attack have been used.

Background

Since early 2018, Douma has been the base of Saudi Arabian-supported Jaysh al-Islam, a rebel coalition fighting in the Syrian Civil War. Al-Rahman Legion and Tahrir al-Sham rebel groups controlled the area around the city.

Jaysh al-Islam admitted it used chemical weapons earlier in a mainly Kurdish populated area in the city of Aleppo in April 2016.

Reports about the attack in the city followed two other smaller chlorine gas attacks there one month before—one on March 7 and another on March 11.

Such attacks were common beforehand. For instance, Human Rights Watch documented 85 chemical weapons attacks in Syria since 2013 as part of the civil war.

Regardless of that commonality, other nations had responded measuredly to chemical attacks in the Levantine country. A year earlier, for example, the United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles on the Shayrat Air Base in response to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack, which the Trump administration attributed to the Syrian government. Following that strike, the U.S. government repeatedly warned against the use of chemical weapons in Syria. For instance, in February 2018, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated that he believed that the Syrian government had not complied with the Russian-brokered deal to destroy its chemical weapons arsenal. Mattis further warned that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be "ill-advised to go back to violating" the prohibition of chemical weapons use. At the same time, the United States also accused the Syrian government of manufacturing "new kinds of weapons" that were capable of delivering chemical agents.

Attack

Several medical, monitoring, and activist groups—including the White Helmets—reported that Syrian Army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the city of Douma. The bombs, suspected to be filled with chemical munitions such as chlorine gas and sarin, caused severe convulsions in some residents and suffocated others.

Seventy deaths were attributed to the attack by the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, a humanitarian organization that supervises medical services in the region. On-site medics reported that the cause of those deaths was exposure to chlorine and sarin gas. A video from the scene of the attack showed lifeless men, women, and children with foam at their mouths. Injuries were also reported, with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) reporting that over 500 people at Douma "were brought to local medical centers with symptoms indicative of exposure to a chemical agent." SAMS also said that a chlorine bomb struck a Douma hospital, killing six people there, and that another attack with "mixed agents" hit a building nearby. According to the Syrian opposition groups, witnesses also reported a strong smell of chorine during the attack and said that effects appeared stronger than in previous attacks of this kind. Syrian opposition activists also posted videos of yellow compressed gas cylinders that they said were used during the attack. Based on the symptoms and the speed with which the victims were affected, medical workers and experts suggested that either a combination of chlorine with another gas or a nerve agent was used.

Disputed veracity

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The veracity of the reports on the attack was disputed. On one hand, several nations—including the United States, the European Union, Turkey, and several middle eastern nations—condemned the Syrian government for the alleged attack. On the other hand, the Syrian government and its allies—particularly Russia—instead claimed that no chemical weapons were used in the city.

There have been reported incidents of chemical weapons use in Douma in January 2018; however, Russia vetoed a potential United Nations mission to investigate, and US Defense Secretary James Mattis said they could not corroborate the reports. In a March 2018 statement, Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian military's General Staff, accused Eastern Ghouta rebels of attempting to fabricate an incident involving chemical weapons to be used by the U.S. as a pretext to target the Assad government, without specifying the timing of the incident.

Investigations by the United Nations and the OPCW have concluded that the Syrian government has previously used chemical weapons in the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack.

On 15 March, the China Central Television reported that the Syrian military claimed it had discovered a chemical weapon workshop located within a farm previously under rebel control near the suburb of Douma. The Syrian government and Russia have in the past claimed the Khan Shaykhun chemical attack came from a rebel operated chemical weapon workshop, however their claim has been disproved by OPCW investigations.

In addition to the findings from the Khan Shaykhun attack, a joint OPCW-U.N. panel in 2016 determined that the Syrian government twice used helicopters to deploy chlorine gas in civilian areas in northern Idlib. A later report holds the government responsible for a third attack. The attacks occurred in 2014 and 2015. The panel also found that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria used mustard gas.

The Baghdad Post reported that "Well-informed sources said Iraqi militias linked with the Iran-allied IMIS Militias were involved in the Assad's chemical attacks on Douma. The sources confirmed the militias were sent by the Iraqi government."

Aftermath

The day after the alleged chemical attack, islamist rebels controlling Douma agreed to a deal with the government to surrender the area.

In the early hours of 9 April 2018, an airstrike was conducted against Tiyas Military Airbase, reportedly killing several people. The United States denied launching the airstrike, and an Israeli spokeswoman declined to comment. Russia said Israel was responsible, and that two Israeli F-15I jets attacked the airfield from Lebanese airspace, firing 8 missiles of which 5 were intercepted. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, at least 14 people were killed and more were wounded. Among the dead were seven Iranian soldiers.

Russia and Iran have said that the Douma attack was a false flag attack. On 10 April USA, France and UK vetoed Russian proposed UN resolution that would have created "a new investigative mechanism to look into chemical weapons attacks in Syria and determine who is responsible." After Western vetos, Syria and Russia have invited the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to investigate if chemical weapons were used.

On 10 April U.S. President Donald Trump, the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement following joint telephone calls that they had "agreed that the international community needed to respond to uphold the worldwide prohibition on the use of chemical weapons".

On 11 April Trump threated Russia in a tweet to "get ready" for "missiles" adding that "You shouldn't be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!" Vasily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, said that the United States would "bear responsibility" for any "illegal military adventure" they conducted.

Reactions

Countries

•  Australia: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop wrote: "We urge all parties involved in #Syria conflict to apply maximum pressure on the Syrian regime to fully halt any and all chemical weapons related activity."
•  Qatar: The Foreign Ministry expressed deep shock, strongly condemned the attack and called for an international investigation.
•  Iran: The Foreign Ministry spokesman said: "While the Syrian army has the upper hand in the war against armed terrorists, it is not logical for them to use chemical weapons. Such claims and accusations by the Americans and some Western countries signal a new plot against the government and nation of Syria and is an excuse for military action against them."
•  Russia: The Foreign Ministry on 8 April denied that chemical weapons had been used, denouncing the reports as another example of a "continuous series of fake news about the use of chlorine and other chemical agents by the government forces". A few days later, the Russian military said that the chemical attack had been staged and filmed by members of the White Helmets organization and no trace of any chemical weapons use had been detected by Russian experts who researched the alleged site on 9 April.
•  Saudi Arabia: An unnamed source from the country's foreign ministry stated that the country expressed deep concerns and condemned the attack, stressing a need to stop such attacks.
•  Syria: A source at Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said that "allegations of using chemical weapons have become an unconvincing stereotype, except for some countries which traffic with the blood of civilians and support terrorism in Syria".
•  Turkey: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement strongly condemning the attack. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said: "The Syrian regime must give account for the attacks in various regions of the country at different times." Also added "The entire international community, primarily countries that have an influence on the Syrian regime, has a responsibility to take the necessary steps in order to prevent similar war crimes and crimes against humanity". President Erdoğan said: "Those who committed this massacre will definitely pay a heavy price. I curse those who committed this massacre. We are conducting talks and efforts over this. I had a phone conversation with Mr. Vladimir Putin yesterday. Talks will continue today and tomorrow.
•  United Kingdom: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said regarding reports on chemical attacks that "these latest reports must urgently be investigated and the international community must respond" and that "investigators from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons looking into reports of chemical weapons use in Syria have our full support. Russia must not yet again try to obstruct these investigations". He also condemned the use of chemical weapons in general, adding that "those responsible for the use of chemical weapons have lost all moral integrity and must be held to account.".
•  United States: President Donald Trump condemned the attack on Twitter, saying "many dead, including women and children, in mindless CHEMICAL attack in Syria. Area of atrocity is in lockdown and encircled by Syrian Army, making it completely inaccessible to outside world. President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay. Open area immediately for medical help and verification. Another humanitarian disaster for no reason whatsoever. SICK!" Trump canceled his trip to the 8th Summit of the Americas, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place.

Supranational organizations

•  European Union: In a statement, the EU said that "the evidence points towards yet another chemical attack by the regime" and "it is a matter of grave concern that chemical weapons continue to be used, especially on civilians. The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the use of chemical weapons and calls for an immediate response by the international community". It also called for the United Nations Security Council to identify the perpetrators and for Russia and Iran to influence Assad against launching such attacks.

•  United Nations: On 10 April 2018, the United Nations Security Council failed to adopt three competing resolutions on an inquiry into the alleged chemical attack, with Russia and the United States clashing over the issue and exchanging military threats.

See also

• List of massacres during the Syrian Civil War
• Syria chemical weapons program
• Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War
• List of Syrian Civil War barrel bomb attacks

References

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• Current events from April 2018
• April 2018 events in Syria
• Douma District
• Military operations of the Syrian Civil War in 2018
• Military operations of the Syrian Civil War involving chemical weapons
• Military operations of the Syrian Civil War involving the Syrian government
• Rif Dimashq Governorate in the Syrian Civil War