Assad regime behind deadly 2016 chlorine gas assault in Syria's Hama OPCW report confirms

The United Kingdom’s Special Envoy to Syria, Ann Snow, has affirmed that the latest report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) attributes responsibility to the deposed Assad regime for the 2016 chlorine gas attack on Kafr Zita, in the Hama countryside.

“This report stresses the Assad regime’s responsibility for the chlorine gas attack on Kafr Zita. Ousted Assad’s chemical weapons attacks are heinous, and there must be no impunity or immunity for those who commit such crimes,” Snow stated in a post on X, SANA reports.

Snow further emphasized the UK’s commitment to international efforts to prevent the recurrence of chemical weapons use: “The United Kingdom supports Syria and the OPCW in ensuring that these weapons are never used again in Syria.”

She also shared a copy of the OPCW’s fifth report on chemical attacks in Syria, released on January 22, which confirms that the Assad regime carried out the chlorine gas assault on Kafr Zita. The attack directly injured at least 35 people and caused additional harm to others in the area.

Although the OPCW announced in January 2016 the destruction of most of the chemical weapons declared by the criminal regime, doubts persisted over its continued production of such weapons. It used them several times, most notably in the Douma attack of April 2018, which killed dozens. The organization repeatedly confirmed in its reports that the regime imported materials needed for production and obstructed OPCW missions from visiting many sites.

On April 21, 2021, OPCW member states decided to suspend Syria’s rights within the organization, including its voting rights, after the OPCW confirmed the ousted regime’s use of chemical weapons in attacks on the town of Latamneh in Hama province in 2017 and in Saraqib city in Idleb province in February 2018.

By Vafa Guliyeva