Kerry ‘Certain’ Assad Used Chlorine Gas

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he is “absolutely certain” Bashar al-Assad’s government has used chlorine gas to kill its own people.

“We are certain that the preponderance of those attacks have been carried out by the regime, and we’re putting together a portfolio of that data that supports that even as we speak now,” he said. Kerry, speaking to reporters via video conference from Boston, said the international community’s patience with Assad was nearly at its end.

“I think everybody’s patience is wearing thin with respect to the extraordinary depravity of the weaponry and mechanisms for delivery which Assad has used against his own people,” he said.

The leading American diplomat made the comments ahead of today’s presentation by Syrian doctors to the U.S. Congress, which will accuse Syria’s government of systematically weaponizing chlorine in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

According to the Guardian, the testimony will be accompanied by a dossier of evidence, including data, photos and videos, compiled by the Syrian American Medical Society, which operates 95 medical facilities inside the country.

The doctors have documented 31 separate chlorine attacks between 16 March and 9 June using barrel bombs that mainly targeted civilian areas, killing 10 people and injuring 530 others, according to the report, which could not immediately be verified.

The Obama administration has been cautious about accusing Assad of using chemical weapons. Syria was supposed to have been stripped of most of its chemical weapons in 2013 after Washington threatened an attack due to their use, although Damascus ultimately agreed to a multinational deal brokered by Russia.

The U.N. Security Council is currently debating a draft resolution that will help determine who is responsible for using chlorine as a chemical weapon. Russia questions whether a resolution, which is being drafted by the United States, is needed.

Israel Pledges to Protect Druze Refugees

In the clearest sign yet of Israel’s commitment to protect Syria’s Druze community, the country’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, says the country is preparing for a potential influx of Syrian refugees and would prevent any border massacre.

“The reality in the Golan Heights, where internal fighting is near the border with Israel, is of great concern to us, including the possibility we might have to deal with refugees from Syria arriving at the border,” Eisenkot told a parliamentary committee, with his words conveyed by a spokesman.

“We will take measures to prevent a situation where refugees are massacred. Our action would be humanitarian,” he said.

A significant number of Druze live in Israel, and the community has urged the government to help protect its brethren in Syria.

Recommended Reads:

• NPR: Of 4 Million Syrian Refugees, the U.S. Has Taken Fewer than 1,000
• Financial Times: YPG’s Tel Abyad Victory Changes the Game for Syria’s Kurds
• Reuters: More Than 23,000 Refugees Flee to Turkey to Escape Fighting: U.N.
• Guardian: Syrian Doctors to Show the U.S. Evidence of Assad’s Use of Chemical Weapons
• BBC: Syrian Civil War: Regime Air Force Strikes ‘Kill 16’
• AFP: Assad, U.N. Envoy Agree to Keep Pressing for Syria Peace