255 chemical attacks carried out in Syria since 2011

Since 2011 when the civil war erupted in Syria, a total of 255 chemical attacks have been carried out in the country, mostly by the Bashar Assad regime.

According to the former head of the chemical weapons department of the regime, Zahir Sakit, who joined opposition forces in 2013, the regime conducted 251 attacks while the Daesh terrorist group conducted three and the PKK terrorist organization conducted one.

In all of these attacks, a total 4,300 people have been killed, Sakit said, adding that they are preparing a report on the issue to present to the U.N.

Expressing that the latest attack took place on July 22, 2019, Sakit said that in the northwestern province of Idlib, a total of 57 civilians have been killed while 99 have been injured.

Between the March 17, 2015 Sermin attack and this latest attack in July, there have been 11 chemical attacks in Idlib, which killed a total of 228 people.

"The attacks caused large amounts of casualties since they were mostly targeting bazaars, refugee camps and most populated streets of the city. We have lost 4,300 people in these pre-planned attacks. Some 17,000 people, 90% who are civilians, have been injured," Sakit said.

He added that in the attacks, many chemical mixtures have been used from chlorine to phosphorus. The regime conducted its first major chemical attack on Aug. 21, 2013 in the Eastern Ghouta region of Damascus. The attack, which killed over 1,400 civilians, had raised international concerns at the time.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama had been underling that the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" at the time, yet the regime continued using chemical weapons with no response from Washington.

During the process, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) requested the annihilation of all chemical weapons stocks and on Aug. 19, 2014 announced that this process was completed. Yet, it was understood that with the attack in Khan Shaykhun on April 4, 2017, the regime still had chemical weapons. Over 100 civilians lost their lives in the attack and more than 500 people were affected by poisonous gas.

On April 7, the U.S. conducted a limited operation on the Shayrat Air Base from where the planes carrying the chemical weapons took off from. Examining the urine and blood specimen of the people affected by the attack, the OPCW announced on April 19, 2017 that they found sarin gas was used in the event.

In Sakir's opinion, many international organizations, including the U.N., have enough evidence regarding these attacks.

"However," he said, "these attacks, which are backed by Russia and Iran, are being used as leverage by many countries, especially the U.S. Until today, there have never been concrete steps to solve the issue."

Sakir added that they will come up with a group of Syrian delegation and look for their rights in a legal system.

In Syria, there have been repeated reports of alleged poison gas attacks, which often kill civilians.

At the beginning of last year, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights revealed 34 such attacks in the Syrian civil war, which could clearly be proven.

The U.N. institution also blamed the Bashar Assad regime for most of the attacks.