The OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) issued its first report on the incidents in Al-Lataminah, Hama countryside, on March 24, 25, and 30, 2017, confirming the responsibility of the Syrian regime for carrying out airstrikes loaded with chemical substances on Al-Lataminah.
The team published its report on April 8, 2020, under reference number (S/1867/2020), in accordance with paragraph 10 of decision C-SS-4/Dec.3, addressing the threat posed by the use of chemical weapons in the aforementioned incidents in Al-Lataminah.
The OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team (hereafter referred to as the “Investigation Team”) was established by a decision of the Conference of the States Parties, dated June 27, 2018.
The Investigation Team began its work in June 2019, building upon the findings of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM), which confirmed the use of chemical weapons on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic in several incidents. However, the Joint Investigative Mechanism between the OPCW and the United Nations had not reached final conclusions regarding these incidents.
This report explained the mandate of the Investigation Team, the legal and practical challenges involved in its work, and the conclusions it reached through investigations conducted between June 2019 and March 2020, which focused on the incidents that occurred in Al-Lataminah on March 24, 25, and 30, 2017.
The report noted that the Investigation Team is not a judicial body with the authority to assign individual criminal responsibility. It does not have the power to issue final conclusions regarding non-compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, as its mandate is to “establish facts.”
Targeting of Al-Lataminah, Hama Countryside, on March 24, 25, and 30, 2017
The report confirmed that the Investigation Team was unable to access the incident sites or individuals and information within the Syrian Arab Republic, or that the information the team sought was held by third parties (some of them states or entities in areas controlled by such states).
The Investigation Team expressed regret that the regime did not allow it to carry out its tasks, despite multiple requests made by the OPCW’s Technical Secretariat to the Syrian regime and the regime’s commitment to cooperate under paragraph 7 of Article 7 of the Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as Syria’s obligation under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 of 2013 to cooperate fully with the OPCW.
The Investigation Team conducted interviews with 20 individuals, including eyewitnesses and victims, obtained videos, documents, and other materials from various sources related to the incidents, analyzed samples, requested assessments from experts and forensic institutes, and collected information from open sources.
During its collection and verification of information and interviews, the team also engaged with local entities, including the Syrian Chemical Violations Documentation Center (CVDCS), which provided certain information.
The report elaborated on the team’s activities, the investigative approach, scenarios, and claims it examined, as well as the general situation in the area and the military context for each incident.
The Investigation Team concluded that on March 24, 2017, at 6:00 AM local time, a Syrian regime military aircraft, a Su-22 from the 50th Brigade of the 22nd Air Division, took off from Shayrat Airbase and dropped an M400 aerial bomb on southern Al-Lataminah containing sarin gas, injuring at least 16 people.
On March 25, 2017, at 3:00 PM local time, a Syrian regime military helicopter took off from Hama Airbase and dropped a cylinder on Al-Lataminah Hospital, penetrating its roof, causing the cylinder to crack and release chlorine gas, which injured at least 30 people.
On March 30, 2017, at 6:00 AM local time, a Syrian regime military aircraft, a Su-22 from the 50th Brigade of the 22nd Air Division, took off from Shayrat Airbase and dropped an M400 aerial bomb on southern Al-Lataminah containing sarin gas, injuring at least 60 people.
The report confirmed that the Investigation Team reached its conclusions gradually after considering various theories, ultimately determining that its conclusions were the only ones that could reasonably be reached “based on the combined information available” and according to the standard of “reasonable grounds” for certainty.
Al-Lataminah assad_regime chemical_attack chemical_weapons IIT opcw syria
