Rights group puts gas attack blame on Damascus

Syrian forces were almost certainly behind two August 21 chemical attacks in Syria, according to a Human Rights Watch report published Tuesday.

“The evidence concerning the type of rockets and launchers used in these attacks strongly suggests that these are weapon systems known and documented to be only in the possession of, and used by, Syrian government armed forces,” the report stated. “Human Rights Watch and arms experts monitoring the use of weaponry in Syria have not documented Syrian opposition forces to be in the possession of the 140mm and 330mm rockets used in the attack, or their associated launchers.”

HRW did not have physical access to the sites of the attacks, and their findings are based on Skype interviews they conducted with “more than 10 witnesses and survivors” and “three doctors who responded to the attacks.” They also cited the findings of experts who studied video and pictures of victims and the remnants of weapons from the sites and maps of the locations of the sites.

The report put the death toll at 837 based on sources from the affected areas, but acknowledged that the lack of official hospitals makes it difficult to calculate a precise figure. The US has put the toll at over 1,400 whereas Doctors Without Borders estimated some 355 people were killed.

According to the report, HRW also dismissed claims that the opposition forces were responsible for the attacks or accidentally set off a chemical warhead by mishandling it.

“Claims that the August 21 deaths were caused by an accidental explosion by opposition forces mishandling chemical weapons in their possession are inconsistent with large numbers of deaths at two locations 16 kilometers apart, and documentation of rocket attacks on the sites that morning, as evidenced by witness accounts, the damage visible on the rockets themselves, and their impact craters.”

Spencer Ho