The Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in Syria released a report on the incidents in the city of Marea on September 1 and 3, 2015.
The FFM published its report on January 24, 2022, with the reference number (S/2017/2022). The report confirmed the use of a chemical substance as a weapon in the attack on September 1, 2015.
Neighborhoods in the city of Marea, located north of Aleppo, were bombarded with munitions containing chemical substances that fell on residential areas during attacks on September 1 and 3, 2015. Some of these munitions were observed to emit a black substance or yellow powder.
The Fact-Finding Mission, which was investigating the use of chemical weapons in Marea in August 2015, was also tasked with investigating the September 2015 incident. The mission immediately began its work and obtained available samples and materials in 2021.
The FFM team coordinated with non-governmental organizations, including the Syrian Chemical Weapons Documentation Center and the Syrian Civil Defense, to conduct an in-depth investigation of the available information.
Between September 3 and 5, 2015, medical records indicated that approximately 51 victims (45 males and 6 females), including 11 children, suffered from chemical irritation and were transferred to a field hospital in the city.
The mission conducted interviews with 12 eyewitnesses associated with the incident, including 9 victims, 1 sample collector, and 2 medical workers. The mission also analyzed the information gathered during its field visits.
Witnesses interviewed by the Fact-Finding Mission described two substances emitted from the projectiles upon impact, each with an extremely foul, repulsive, and acrid odor. One had an oily blackish-brown color, and the other had a yellow powder. However, the mission did not find evidence of the simultaneous use of both substances in the locations examined.
The Fact-Finding Mission could not determine the chemical composition of the yellow powder mentioned by the witnesses because no samples were obtained from the sites. However, the black substance was identified as a chemical listed in Schedule 1.A.04 s of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
The report concluded that, based on all the information obtained by the Fact-Finding Mission, a chemical substance was used as a weapon in the attack on September 1, 2015. However, the findings did not confirm the use of chemical substances as a weapon in the attack on September 3, 2015, because the victims exhibited symptoms similar to those of the first attack.
chemical_weapons FFM MAREA opcw syria
