Source of Picture: aljazeera
Eleven years have passed since the chemical attacks first targeted Eastern Ghouta in the countryside of Damascus, Syria. Following that, a series of attacks hit various locations in Syria, with the victims often being children who were not even born yet. Their pregnant mothers inhaled toxic gases at the time, leading to changes in fetal growth and, most often, loss of their lives.
Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria (CVDCS) documented the birth of 11 cases of malformed fetuses in both Eastern and Western Ghouta, along with 32 cases of miscarriage.
In 2013, the Syrian regime utilized its chemical arsenal to bombard the Eastern and Western Ghouta surrounding the capital, Damascus, on August 21, 2013. These areas were then under the control of opposition forces.
The attack on Ghouta resulted in the deaths of nearly 1,400 people, predominantly women and children. Three hospitals in the Damascus countryside received around 3,600 patients who suffered from symptoms of inhaling toxic chemical gases.
Deformed fetuses and cases of miscarriage:
Between 2013 and 2014, Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria (CVDCS) documented the birth of 11 cases of malformed fetuses in Eastern Ghouta (6 in Zamalka, 1 in Ein Tarma, 1 in Arbin, 1 in Douma) and Western Ghouta (2 in Al-Muadamiyah) due to chemical strikes. Additionally, the Unified Medical Office in Eastern Ghouta (in cooperation with CVDCS) documented 32 cases of miscarriage due to inhalation of chemical substances, confirmed by photographs showing various deformities in the fetuses, obtained by CVDCS.
In May 2014, the first three cases of malformed children due to their mothers inhaling toxic gases during pregnancy were born, and their cases were documented by Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria (CVDCS).
Dr. Ayman Mustafa Issa, a former paramedic at the Unified Medical Office in Eastern Ghouta during the chemical attacks, told CVDCS that cases of miscarriage among women exposed to the chemical strike in Ghouta could be attributed to two reasons: either due to fear and terror from the chemical bombardment, which was the first of its kind in Syria inside the Ghouta, or due to inhaling the chemical gas (later identified as sarin).
Issa added that the doctors in Eastern Ghouta at that time had limited tools and resources and were unable to thoroughly examine cases and determine the exact causes, as the area was completely besieged, and the matter required specialized laboratories and a systematic and precise scientific approach, which “was not available to them at that time.
Degrees of deformities:
Inhaling chemical gases and toxins can cause deformities within the mother’s womb, especially during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, leading to disruptions in fetal organ formation, medically known as “teratogenicity.” Chemical substances to which the mother is exposed during later months of pregnancy often affect the fetal nervous system (brain).
Therefore, the congenital deformities that occurred in fetuses in Ghouta resulted from mothers inhaling toxic gases during pregnancy, with most being first-degree deformities characterized by limb absence and nervous system dysfunction in newborns due to maternal inhalation of toxic gases, resulting in a decrease in the fetal amniotic fluid and subsequent deformities.
Some deformities noted by doctors in Ghouta affected both the nervous and skeletal systems, appearing prominently in the feet and thoracic cage, and in some cases led to brain atrophy and growth retardation. Some cases included the absence of the nasal and frontal parts forming the skull, and most of the children died shortly after birth or within a short period.
According to Dr. Ayman Mustafa Issa, medical teams observed an increasing trend of deformities in births over five years following the strike (until the opposition’s exit from Ghouta in 2018 towards northern Syria), mostly involving mental atrophy, neurological deformities, and growth retardation.
A study from real life:
Eighteen months after the chemical bombardment on Ghouta in Damascus, the medical journal “The Lancet” published a study conducted by doctors Omar Hakim and Sawsan Jabri from the specialized hospital in Ghouta on February 23, 2015.
The study monitored the pregnancies of women, their basic bodily functions, and growth status over three months (September, October, and November) of 2014.
The results showed that pregnant women exposed to toxic gases emitted from chemical weapons in Ghouta were more prone to miscarriages or premature births.
The study included 211 women exposed to chemical gas, of whom 110 reported exposures to the chemical attack. There were 49 cases of miscarriage (a rate of 45%), with 38 women miscarrying in the first three months of pregnancy and 11 in the second three months.
The study also revealed four cases of premature birth (less than 34 weeks), with two babies dying shortly after birth, and three cases of stillbirth.
According to the study, seven women exposed to the chemical who gave birth during the first three months had children with deformities. Five of them died hours or days after birth, while two survived (one with heart deformities and the other with brain edema), whose fate was unknown at the time of the article’s release.
Clinical results among deceased children showed multiple deformities in the head and spinal cord, absence of nasal and frontal bones of the skull, small brain size with a large amount of fluid between the skull and scalp, skin dissection in various areas of the body, and frequent clots in the umbilical cord.
Verification of the use of chemical weapons:
The chemical bombardment in August 2013 and its aftermath were documented in about 100 videos circulated on social media, obtained by the “Human Rights Watch” team affiliated with the United Nations, among other evidence, to investigate the type of gas used.
A report by “Human Rights Watch” indicated that the chemical strike in the Damascus countryside involved the use of “sarin gas.”
The report concluded that “it is likely that the August 21 attacks were carried out with chemical weapons, using a 330mm ground-to-ground rocket system likely manufactured by Syria and a 140mm rocket system from the Soviet era, and that the mentioned rockets were used to deliver nerve gas. Evidence suggests that the nerve gas used is most likely sarin or a similar nerve gas at weapon grade.”
This led the United Kingdom and the United States to request verification of the Syrian regime’s use of chemical weapons, prompting the United Nations to threaten the regime and place its chemical arsenal under the control of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) pursuant to Resolution 2118. The arsenal was destroyed in October 2013 after Syria joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in September.
What is Sarin gas?
It is a highly toxic organophosphorus nerve agent developed for use in chemical warfare during World War II and continues to be used as a weapon today, according to the National Toxicology Program (NTP).
The NTP, a joint program managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services, coordinates, evaluates, and prepares reports on toxicology within government agencies.
The website confirms that exposure to sarin can lead to death or short-term health effects, including seizures, paralysis, and difficulty breathing within 24 hours of exposure. Long-term health effects of sarin exposure may be observed days, weeks, or years after exposure.
According to the political newspaper Politico, it is likely that countries resort to the use of chemical attacks during wars because of their “terrifying” effectiveness when conventional military weapons are proven “ineffective”.
chemical weapons chemical_attack_syria opcw syria
