Syrian Opposition Member: No Way to Determine Who Carried Out Douma Gas Attack

Slightly over two weeks ago, the infamous White Helmets group published footage showing the alleged aftermath of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces in the city of Douma – unverified evidence was used as a rationale by three Western nations, the United States, France and the United Kingdom, for missile strikes on Syria.

Samir Aita, a Syrian member of the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad, has explained to Sputnik France that it is impossible to determine whom to hold accountable for the alleged chemical attack in Douma.

“We know that the Syrian army has possibly had some chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as Daesh* and other militant groups. People from civil opposition, helping those wounded, medical organizations that try to guarantee the people’s security – everyone has shown skepticism towards reports about chemical weapons, in this case sarin gas, being used. They have surely used chlorine, but we don’t know either who did it, or how it happened,”Aita elaborated.

Despite the fact that the opposition member does not accuse President Assad of the chemical attack, he still slams him as a “criminal,” “because he led Syria to this plight,” adding that he could have prevented the evolution of the crisis into a large-scale war.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had confirmed that the fact-finding mission found no chemical weapons at Syrian facilities bombed by the United States, France and the UK 11 days ago.

READ MORE: Torture, Executions: Thousands Languished in Terrorist Jails in Syria's Douma

On April 14, the United States, the UK, and France, fired over 100 missiles at multiple targets in Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians by government forces in the city of Douma in Eastern Ghouta on April 7.

The tripartite attack on Syria took place on the same day that the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was set to launch a fact-finding mission on site; prior to the strikes, the Russian Ministry of Defense sent a chemical corps commission to Douma to investigate the alleged incident, and found no traces of chemical poisoning, either chlorine or sarin.

Reports, suggesting a chemical attack in Douma emerged on media a week prior to the Western strikes, with the Syrian Civil Defense, commonly known as the White Helmets, publishing unverified videos and photos from the site of the purported incident. The West rushed to conclusions, blaming the attack on Damascus, while the Syrian government vehemently has denied the claims, describing it as a false flag.

Weeks prior to the attack, both Damascus and Moscow warned the international community of upcoming chemical provocations, staged by militant groups in order to “justify foreign intervention” in Syria. 

*Daesh, also known as ISIL/ISIS/IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.