The following is a statement regarding Syrian President Bashar al Assad's use of concentrated chloride gas as a weapon against civilians in the city of Sarmin and surrounding areas. It is very powerful and is directed at the United Nations Security Council which on March 6, 2015 passed Security Council Resolution 2209 which demanded all parties in Syria stop using chlorine as a weapon. The most recent attacks occurred on March 16 - 24.
The gentleman speaking is with the Civil Defense organization working on behalf of the wounded in the area. He has first hand knowledge of the attacks and resulting casualties.
It is imperative that the United Nations Security Council demand access to samples that are available in the area.
(Full written transcript below video.)
Statement by a Representative of the Civilian Defense Team of Sarmin, Syria on the Suspected Use of Chloride Gas by the Syrian Arab Republic as a Weapon Against Civilians
March 25, 2015 – (Sarmin, Syria ) To the friends of the Syrian people in both the United Nations Security Council and in its member Nations, I am Laith Faris. I am the head of the Civil Defense emergency operations in the city of Sarakeb, Idleb, Syria and on stand-by for the surrounding cities of Sarmin and Bannish.
I respectfully make the following urgent appeal:
The people of the towns of Sarmin, Binnish and Kminas have been under repeated air attack and barrel bomb raids by the government of Syria since March 16th. Just yesterday, the regime bombarded several area cities wounding many and killing at least 10 civilians, including 4 children.
Unlike attacks of the past, those beginning on March 16th have included barrel bombs containing chemical weapons – what medical personnel say appears to be concentrated chlorine gas.
On the evening of March 16th at approximately 9:00 pm and 10:45 pm local time, the Air Force of Syrian President Bashar al Assad flew two helicopters over a residential area of the city and released four barrel bombs.
Over 150 civilians suffered the clear symptoms associated with Chloride gas; burning in the eyes, cough, difficulty breathing, and dizziness, followed in the severe with unconsciousness, convulsion, discoloration of the skin due to lack of oxygen, followed by death.
The smell of bleach spread in the town as experienced by countless witnesses. Official tests of tissue samples and the material dropped by the helicopters can verify this, but such labs are unavailable in the city. I have some of these samples laying before me now.
Six people died from this attack including three siblings - a 3 year old girl named Sarah, her sister, a 2 year old girl named Aisha and her brother, a 1 year old boy named Mohammed.
For the past week we have desperately tried to get tissue samples into the hands of United Nations personnel so that the agent used could be confirmed, but due to border closings we have been unsuccessful. The samples, however, remain intact but we are concerned the evidence will be lost the longer the samples do not get analyzed.
On March 22rd, President Assad ordered a second attack using the same chemical agent. Thankfully there have been no reported fatalities from this unwarranted attack on civilians.
On March 24th, as many as 9 helicopters flew multiple barrel bomb raids on the cities. At the time of this statement I do not know the number of casualties.
As you know, on March 6, 2015, only ten days prior to the first attack, the Security Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of resolution 2209. This resolution explicitly forbade the Assad regime from using chlorine gas as a chemical weapon and it invoked the enforcement power of Article VII of the UN Charter which allows for both economic and military response.
In addition, it expressly supported the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and its fact-finding mission to study all available information relating to allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria. It stressed that those responsible for use of chemical weapons — including chlorine — must be held accountable. In addition, the Council called on all parties to fully cooperate with the mission.
The civilians of Sarmin, Binnish and Kminas respectfully, but with near desperation, ask that the United Nations Security Council immediately demand open transit to the area and access to all samples that would verify the use of Chloride gas. This action would be in direct support of the mission of the OPCW and in keeping with resolution 2209.
If it is shown that Chlorine has been used as a weapon, we ask that you put your words into action.
We ask that you use all means necessary and authorized under Article VII to put a stop to this inhumane and barbaric attempt by President Assad to cower and kill – to kill a people whose only crime has been to seek freedom.
Please know, the resolutions you pass in support of Syrian civilians are read, are heard and are appreciated – in fact, they have served as life-lines that keep us from drowning. We read and hear your words and believe them and tell our children, it will be OK.
It is clear that President Assad is mocking you and your resolve – but even more he is intent on killing the children and other civilians of my beloved city.
He will claim he is fighting terrorist. Sarah, Aisha and little Mohammed were not terrorists and they are not “collateral.” They were dearly loved young people who suffocated to death because of their president’s intentional actions.
I have held other young lives as they gasp for breath and I, not as a director of a civil defense group, but as a human being, a father, a Syrian beg you to please, please stand by your words and bring an end to this madness.
On behalf of every Syrian who longs for freedom and who seeks a peaceful and democratic future, we thank you. You are our hope. May God bless you and your families – and may God grant a free and peaceful Syria.
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