Syria rejects report on alleged chemical attack as "politicized" by U.S., Western allies

Milad Atiyeh, Syria's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 2, 2023. Syria on Thursday rejected a recent report by an intergovernmental chemical watchdog that accuses the Syrian forces of a chemical attack near Damascus in 2018 as "politicized" by the United States and its Western allies. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Syria on Thursday rejected a recent report by an intergovernmental chemical watchdog that accuses the Syrian forces of a chemical attack near Damascus in 2018 as "politicized" by the United States and its Western allies.

The report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is used by the United States and its Western allies to justify their attack against Syria launched just days after the alleged chemical attack in the Douma suburb east of Damascus five years ago, Milad Atiyeh, Syria's permanent representative to OPCW, told a press conference in the Syrian capital.

"On 14 April 2018, days after the alleged Douma incident, the United States, Britain and France launched a barbaric attack on Syria under false pretexts and even without waiting for the results of investigations of this incident. Now such countries are investing in this report ... to exert more political pressures, impose more sanctions and embargo on the Syrian people and to prevent Syria from moving on in the reconstruction process," he said.

Atiyeh urged the OPCW not to fall under the hegemony of the United States by preserving its neutrality and credibility.

On Jan. 27, the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team issued a report, claiming that there are reasonable grounds to believe the Syrian air forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on April 7, 2018 in Douma.

During the alleged attack, at least one helicopter of the Syrian "Tiger Forces" Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a residential area in Douma, killing 43 and affecting dozens more, according to the report.

The Syrian government has repeatedly denied all reports that involve the Syrian military in the alleged attack.

Milad Atiyeh, Syria's permanent representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, on Feb. 2, 2023. Syria on Thursday rejected a recent report by an intergovernmental chemical watchdog that accuses the Syrian forces of a chemical attack near Damascus in 2018 as "politicized" by the United States and its Western allies. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)