U.N. Security Council Yet to Decide on Action for Chemical Weapons Use in Syria

Action has yet to be agreed upon by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) after a closed-door session discussing evidence of chemical weapons used in Syria, the Associated Press reported.

Evidence from an international team of investigators concluded that the Syrian government was responsible for at least two chemical weapon attacks in 2014 and 2015, and the so-called Islamic State for one.

Council members met to discuss the investigation’s results on Tuesday but failed to agree on whether the Syrian government should be sanctioned. The Islamic State is already under U.N. sanctions.

A September 2013 UNSC resolution authorized sanctions against any use of chemical weapons in Syria, after the Syrian government was accused of using chemical weapons in an attack on civilians in the Damascus suburbs. Averting U.S. military strikes, Syria accepted a Russian proposal to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and surrender its chemical weapons stockpile.

But Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there was not enough evidence in the report to issue any sanctions yet.

“Clearly there is a smoking gun. We know that chlorine most likely has been used – that was already the finding of the fact-finding mission before – but there are no fingerprints on the gun,” Churkin said after the session.

Before the session, U.S. ambassador Samantha Power said she expected a council resolution “soon,” and Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the UNSC to impose sanctions and refer Syria to the International Criminal Court.

“The Security Council diminishes its importance if it doesn’t take strong action against demonstrated use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government,” said Louis Charbonneau, U.N. director at HRW.

U.S.-Backed Forces in Syria Stop Fighting Each Other Under Fragile Cease-Fire

U.S.-backed forces fighting each other in Syria reached an apparent cease-fire on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

The U.S. welcomed the pause in fighting between Turkish-backed forces and Kurdish militias, both of whom are supported by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the so-called Islamic State in Syria.

Turkey launched “Operation Euphrates Shield” last week, targeting both ISIS militants and Kurdish forces near its border. The main Kurdish militia, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), is a key ally of Washington in the fight against ISIS, forming the bulwark of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey, however, views the Kurdish forces as a threat that could encourage its own Kurdish insurgency in the Turkish southeast.

“The United States welcomes the overnight calm between the Turkish military and other counter-ISIL [ISIS] forces in Syria,” said Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman.

Although Kurdish military officials said the cease-fire would last, the Turkish military denied the cease-fire.

“The statements of U.S. officials about the content and the targets of the Euphrates Shield operation … are unacceptable and are not in line with the alliance between the two countries,” a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said, adding that operations in Syria would continue until Turkey removed all threats to its security.

Islamic State Spokesman and Head of External Operations Reportedly Killed

ISIS’s key director of overseas operations was reportedly killed in U.S. airstrikes on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was reported to have been targeted by a strike on the town of al-Bab in Syria, a U.S. defense official told Reuters, but did not confirm his death.

ISIS has confirmed al-Adnani’s death. Al-Adnani was one of the founding members of the militant group, and served as its main spokesman. He was also in charge of the group’s external operations, including attacks outside of the self-proclaimed caliphate’s borders in Iraq and Syria.

Recommended Reads:

• Al-Monitor: ‘Window Closing’ on U.S.-Russia Deal on Syria
• Amnesty International: The Desperate Survival Methods Used by Prisoners in Syria
• Agence France-Presse: The Others
• The Daily Beast: Leaked ISIS Documents Show Internal Chaos
• The Guardian: Up to 15,000 ISIS Victims Buried in Mass Graves in Syria and Iraq – Survey