UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) — The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution Friday condemning chlorine attacks in Syria.
The US-drafted resolution was backed by 14 out of 15 Council members with Venezuela abstaining from the vote.
The resolution condemns the use of any chemical weapons in Syria, including chlorine. In the event of non-compliance with the document's provisions, the Security Council may return to discussing further actions, including the introduction of sanctions and a possible military operation under chapter 7 of the UN Charter.
“Those individuals responsible for any use of chemicals as weapons, including chlorine or any other toxic chemical, must be held accountable,” the resolution said.
The OPCW findings suggest that chlorine was used as a weapon in three villages in northern Syria between April and August, 2014.
The OPCW did not, however, state which party may have used chlorine gas.
Syria has been engulfed in a bloody internal conflict since March 2011 with the government forces fighting various insurgent groups, including the Islamic State.
After a sarin gas attack near Damascus killed over 1,000 people in August 2013, Syria joined OPCW and agreed to destroy its toxic arsenal.
At the end of October 2014, the OPCW reported that nearly 98 percent of chemical weapons removed from Syria had been destroyed.
