US coalition strikes Syrian town using banned white phosphorus (again)

Sputnik
Sat, 13 Oct 2018 12:44 UTC

© AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda

The reported strikes are not the first time that the US-led coalition has been accused of using the banned munitions in recent weeks. Last month, the Russian military reported that US strikes using white phosphorus had resulted in major fires and civilian casualties in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ez-Zor.

The strikes, taking place Saturday across multiple districts in the town of Hajin, Deir Ez-Zor province, included the use of white phosphorus, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) has reported, citing local sources.

The agency did not provide any immediate information about possible civilian casualties.

Syrian television station Ikhbariya later reported that several people had been killed and several others injured following separate coalition strikes in al-Soussa, Deir Ez-Zor in an attack which hit a local bakery.

SANA said the strikes involving the use of white phosphorus appeared to have been carried out "under the pretext of fighting Daesh (ISIS).*"

The coalition has not yet made any official commentary regarding the alleged incident.

This week, the United Nations' humanitarian watchdog expressed concern regarding the safety of an estimated 10,000 civilians believed to be trapped in the Hajin area amid reports of civilian deaths during ongoing SDF and coalition operations in the area against Daesh.

Saturday's incident was not the first suspected use of white phosphorus by the US-led coalition. Last month, the coalition denied using the substance in Syria after the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation issued a report of airstrikes carried out using the internationally-prohibited weapons by US F-15 fighter jets on September 8. Damascus has repeatedly accused the coalition of using white phosphorus in its attacks, charging Western forces of using the agent in strikes which have led to the deaths of multiple civilians, including children, last year.

Under Geneva Conventions, white phosphorus munitions are prohibited for use against civilians or in civilian areas.

US-led coalition operations in Syria are not sanctioned by Syrian government, nor the UN.

*Daesh is a terrorist group banned in Russia.

Comment: International law has never stopped the West before:

• US uses illegal white phosphorus munitions in Deir ez-Zor (WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES)
• Monsanto supplied the white phosphorus used in the Gaza massacre
• Alert: Look who's using banned white phosphorus in Mosul!
• White phosphorus in Syria and Iraq: 'Nothing will change' unless Western governments do
• 2 US jets strike Syrian town with banned white phosphorus bombs - Russian Defense Ministry

Yuri Shvytkin, deputy chair of the Russian parliament's lower house's defense committee, told Sputnik that if confirmed, this attack must be investigated by the UNSC and OPCW:

"First of all, the authenticity of the information has to be reverified. If it is confirmed, then without a doubt, a relevant request has to be immediately submitted to the the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) when the information is obtained so that a relevant internal investigation is conducted; the issue must be brought to the attention of the UN Security Council," Yuri Shvytkin, deputy chair of the Russian parliament's lower house's defense committee told Sputnik on Saturday.

In turn, Alexei Kondratyev, deputy chair of the Russian upper house's defense committee, told Sputnik that if the United States used banned weapons, it must be held accountable.

"White phosphorus is prohibited by international law, especially in settlements where civilians may be affected. If these data is confirmed, the United States must be held accountable for this," Kondratyev said.

He also stressed that the incident requires international investigation.

In addition, a member of the Russian parliament's upper house's defense committee, Frants Klintsevich, said that the OPCW should look into reports on the incident as soon as possible.

"Of course, I do not call on the OPCW to accuse the international coalition led by the United States of the use of white phosphorus in Syria only citing SANA's reports. This fact needs to be verified, which is what this organization should do immediately," he wrote on Facebook.

Klintsevich also noted that the fact that the OPCW had not yet commented on the reports yet might mean that the organization was politicized.