Yesterday’s deadly chemical gas attack on Syrian citizens was a “heinous” crime against innocent people, Qatar’s foreign affairs ministry has said.
According to Al Jazeera, at least 58 people, including 11 children, were killed in a rebel-held town in the Idlib province during the assault.
Observers on the ground said many people died through asphyxiation. Some victims were seen writhing on the ground and foaming at the mouth.
This is the aftermath of a suspected chemical gas attack in Syria's Idlib.
(Via @AJPlus) pic.twitter.com/DM2t7jwhE8
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 4, 2017
The United Nations is planning to investigate the attack as a possible war crime. This is because it may have involved the use of a gas akin to sarin.
International criticism of the attack has been swift and strong. The US for example denounced Assad for operating with “brutal, unabashed barbarism” and France called yesterday a “massacre.”
Qatar’s foreign minister also minced no words with his thoughts, saying in a tweet in Arabic:
“History has not witnessed such brutal and inhuman crimes as those committed by Assad regime against innocent people in Syria. Shame on humanity’s silence.”
Demanding justice
In a statement, Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs supported an international investigation. It also urged the community to take “immediate measures” to protect the Syrian people.
And it called for embattled Syrian President Bashar Al Assad’s government to be held accountable for the attack.
“Letting the perpetrators go unpunished could have severe implications represented in further increase of violations and crimes in Syria,” the ministry concluded.
An emergency UN Security Council meeting about the attack and the Syrian conflict, which has dragged on for six years, is scheduled for today.
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