Condemn the horror of chemical weapons

Condemn the horror of chemical weapons

The chemical gas attack in Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province of Syria, killing more than 100 persons including children and injuring many more, is condemnable. It is a stark reminder of the immense dangers that are faced by ordinary men, women and children — the real victims of the unending civil war in Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad denies responsibility. The problem is that his track record of chemical attacks on his own people erodes his credibility.
What is on Assad’s side is that he is the one who stands to lose the most from such a barbaric attack. It would be a shot in the arm for the beleaguered Islamic State, if it can convince people that government forces carried out the attack. Further, it would set back Assad’s ally, Moscow’s efforts to make his removal a precondition for cessation of hostilities. Russia has blamed the rebel forces and the Islamic State, saying that the chemical agents were likely being stored in the rebel’s large ammunition depot in the area that Syrian planes bombed earlier in the day.
It is true that after 2014, when the Assad regime was forced to give up its stock of chemical weapons, chemical agents like mustard gas have been used in clashes between the ISIS and other rebel groups. However, some experts maintain that only the government forces have the capability for an attack of Tuesday’s magnitude.
Rebuilding Syria and peace for its people now becomes an even more elusive goal. As the United Nations Security Council meets in the shadow of this horrific attack, it will need to go beyond blame and counter-blame and lay out the roadmap for a modicum of peace in Syria. Continued finger-pointing and impasse by the world’s leaders will only prolong the suffering of the Syrian people and strengthen terrorist forces like the Islamic State.