UN chemical weapons watchdog finds traces of powerful nerve agent in Syria

The UN chemical weapons watchdog, Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), has discovered that some people in Syria may have been exposed to the powerful nerve agent sarin or sarin-like gases, according to a report by the Guardian.

According to the report, the research mission by the OPCW investigated 11 incidents of the use of toxic chemicals reported by the Syrian government, but the report did not say when the 11 incidents took place or specify any location.

“In one instance, the analysis of some blood samples indicates that individuals were at some point exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance,” said the OPCW report sent to the security council last week.

Sarin, a colourless, odourless gas is used as a chemical weapon given its effect as a nerve-agent, and it is considered a weapon of mass destruction. The substance may be lethal in small, concentrated doses, and people who inhale a non-fatal dose might suffer irreversible neurological damage.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the use of chemical weapons in the country during a meeting on Tuesday.

“Further investigation would be necessary to determine when or under what circumstances such exposure might have occurred,” said the report.

The Guardian points out that previous fact-finding missions by the OPCW in Syria have pointed to the use of chlorine and mustard gas.

Warring factions in the country, namely President Bashar al-Assad and the rebel forces, have accused each other of using the agents throughout the five year war which has killed over 250,000 people and displaced countless others.

A sarin attack outside Damascus in August 2013 had invited international condemnation and led Assad’s regime to turn over its chemical weapon arsenal.

The Guardian further adds that according to the report, 99.6% of all declared chemical weapons in Syria had been destroyed at the time.