UN Inspectors Probe More Syria Chemical Attack Allegations

Three Are After the August 21 Incident

UN inspectors that arrived back in Syria this week are investigating allegations of other, much smaller chemical weapons usage around Damascus, including three incidents that took place in the days after the August 21 incident.

The UN gave no details on what was claimed to have happened in any of the incidents, and said that they hope to have the investigation wrapped up by Monday, with the report expected in late October.

The previous UN report on the August 21 incident confirmed that an attack took place, but completely ducked the question of which side was responsible for it, leaving everyone to claim it as vindication for their own pet theories.

That precedent suggests that the future reports won’t necessarily be particularly enlightening, though it will be worthwhile to see how many of the claimed attacks turn out to be real.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.