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UN inspectors in Syria: under fire, in record time, sarin is confirmed UN inspectors in Syria: under fire, in record time, sarin is confirmed
(about 20 hours later)
UN inspectors had been in Syria only three days when reports came in of a huge chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus. The team was ordered to shelve plans to visit the sites of other alleged incidents and make straight for Ghouta, where scores of people lay dead or injured.UN inspectors had been in Syria only three days when reports came in of a huge chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus. The team was ordered to shelve plans to visit the sites of other alleged incidents and make straight for Ghouta, where scores of people lay dead or injured.
Weather records showed the morning of 21 August was ideal for an attack with a chemical agent. The temperature was dropping before 5am, causing air to move downwards. The agents are heavy, and stay close to the ground, but the added currents would drive the chemical down into basements and lower levels of buildings where people were seeking shelter.Weather records showed the morning of 21 August was ideal for an attack with a chemical agent. The temperature was dropping before 5am, causing air to move downwards. The agents are heavy, and stay close to the ground, but the added currents would drive the chemical down into basements and lower levels of buildings where people were seeking shelter.
The planning was delicate and complex. To visit Ghouta the team had to reach agreements with the Syrian government and each rebel faction, one by one. They pulled together a tenuous and temporary ceasefire that would last for five hours daily between 26 and 29 August.The planning was delicate and complex. To visit Ghouta the team had to reach agreements with the Syrian government and each rebel faction, one by one. They pulled together a tenuous and temporary ceasefire that would last for five hours daily between 26 and 29 August.
On the 26th the team set out for Moadamiya in west Ghouta, which had been attacked on 21 August. On the road in the lead car in their convoy was shot up with sniper fire. The attack cost the mission time but no lives. They returned later and spent two hours gathering evidence.On the 26th the team set out for Moadamiya in west Ghouta, which had been attacked on 21 August. On the road in the lead car in their convoy was shot up with sniper fire. The attack cost the mission time but no lives. They returned later and spent two hours gathering evidence.
The dangers were considered so great the next day that the inspectors remained in Damascus. But on the 28th and 29th they reached Zamalka and Ein Tarma in east Ghouta, which had been attacked the same day. Again, the time constraints were severe. At the end of the last day the inspectors had spent five and a half hours at the two sites.The dangers were considered so great the next day that the inspectors remained in Damascus. But on the 28th and 29th they reached Zamalka and Ein Tarma in east Ghouta, which had been attacked the same day. Again, the time constraints were severe. At the end of the last day the inspectors had spent five and a half hours at the two sites.
The team faced repeated threats of harm and severe time constraints, but in three days on site gathered more than 50 witness statements from people caught up in the attacks – patients, health workers and first responders. The survivors recalled a period of shelling and then the swift onset of a grim pattern of symptoms: shortness of breath, disorientation, blurred vision, vomiting, weakness, loss of consciousness. Those first on the scene saw scores of people lying on the ground, the dead and the dying. Many survivors reported deaths of family members. Two brothers from Zamalka said that of 40 family members in a building there, they were the only survivors.The team faced repeated threats of harm and severe time constraints, but in three days on site gathered more than 50 witness statements from people caught up in the attacks – patients, health workers and first responders. The survivors recalled a period of shelling and then the swift onset of a grim pattern of symptoms: shortness of breath, disorientation, blurred vision, vomiting, weakness, loss of consciousness. Those first on the scene saw scores of people lying on the ground, the dead and the dying. Many survivors reported deaths of family members. Two brothers from Zamalka said that of 40 family members in a building there, they were the only survivors.
Some who went to help became ill themselves. Nine nurses and seven physicians, who were at home at the time of the attack, gave interviews to the mission. They helped survivors with first aid, decontaminated them with water, and got them to hospital however they could, usually by private car. The lucky ones were treated with atropine, hydrocortisone and oxygen.Some who went to help became ill themselves. Nine nurses and seven physicians, who were at home at the time of the attack, gave interviews to the mission. They helped survivors with first aid, decontaminated them with water, and got them to hospital however they could, usually by private car. The lucky ones were treated with atropine, hydrocortisone and oxygen.
From Moadamiya and Ein Tarma, the inspectors identified survivors who showed the most severe symptoms of exposure to a chemical agent. Doctors on the team examined 36 of them and where they could took blood, hair and urine. The survivors ranged from seven to 68 years old and most were men. Of the 30, six said they fell ill after helping others.From Moadamiya and Ein Tarma, the inspectors identified survivors who showed the most severe symptoms of exposure to a chemical agent. Doctors on the team examined 36 of them and where they could took blood, hair and urine. The survivors ranged from seven to 68 years old and most were men. Of the 30, six said they fell ill after helping others.
Two survivors refused to give blood, but samples from 34 who did were sent to laboratories approved by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). At one lab 91% of the blood tested positive for sarin. At another the figure was 85%. One lab returned results from urine samples. Of the samples from Moadamiyah, the rate was 100% positive for sarin. From Zamalka, the figure was 91%. None of the hair samples tested positive. The survivors' symptoms, which included pinpoint eyes and convulsions, matched what the lab tests had found, and in some cases persisted for a week after the attacks.Two survivors refused to give blood, but samples from 34 who did were sent to laboratories approved by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). At one lab 91% of the blood tested positive for sarin. At another the figure was 85%. One lab returned results from urine samples. Of the samples from Moadamiyah, the rate was 100% positive for sarin. From Zamalka, the figure was 91%. None of the hair samples tested positive. The survivors' symptoms, which included pinpoint eyes and convulsions, matched what the lab tests had found, and in some cases persisted for a week after the attacks.
From each of the sites they visited the inspectors gathered 30 more samples to test. They wiped apartment walls and floors. They found spent rockets and wiped warheads, the rocket bodies, and a bolt removed from one device. They took pieces of a pillow, sheets, a carpet, a headscarf. They collected metal fragments, soil from craters, and rubble from the point where a munition ploughed into the roof of a building. All were sent to the OPCW labs for testing. The majority tested positive for sarin, its degradation products, or substances involved in making the agent.From each of the sites they visited the inspectors gathered 30 more samples to test. They wiped apartment walls and floors. They found spent rockets and wiped warheads, the rocket bodies, and a bolt removed from one device. They took pieces of a pillow, sheets, a carpet, a headscarf. They collected metal fragments, soil from craters, and rubble from the point where a munition ploughed into the roof of a building. All were sent to the OPCW labs for testing. The majority tested positive for sarin, its degradation products, or substances involved in making the agent.
In record time, under battlefield conditions, the team of scientists, doctors, interpreters and technicians, led by the Swedish chemical weapons expert åke Sellström, confirmed unequivocally that chemical weapons had been used. The incident ranks as the most significant confirmed use since Saddam Hussein used them against civilians in Halabja in 1988.In record time, under battlefield conditions, the team of scientists, doctors, interpreters and technicians, led by the Swedish chemical weapons expert åke Sellström, confirmed unequivocally that chemical weapons had been used. The incident ranks as the most significant confirmed use since Saddam Hussein used them against civilians in Halabja in 1988.
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