Tuesday’s Idlib attack overshadows Brussels humanitarian gathering for Syria
BRUSSELS, Belgium — More than 70 foreign ministers, delegations, and humanitarian representatives were meeting at the Brussels Conference with the goal of responding to the immense humanitarian challenges facing the people of Syria, but reports of at least 72 people believed to have been killed as the result asphyxiation in Idlib the day before overshadowed Wednesday’s meetings.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs called the event a “horrific chemical attack” in her opening remarks.
“We have a responsibility to put an end to this war,” Federica Mogherini said.
At last year’s meeting in London, donors pledged $12 billion in relief.
Regardless of pledged relief, delivering it to those in need has proven difficult for humanitarians.
“The difficulty of the continuing conflict in Syria has been that access for aid agencies, particularly the UN and international agencies, has been extremely dependent upon trying to secure through negotiations safe, unimpeded access and this has been extraordinarily difficult to secure — and above all with government of Syria,” Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s Under Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told Rudaw last month.
More than five million people have fled Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, and the UN has estimated that around 400,000 people have been killed.
The World Health Organization has stated that the cases are consistent with nerve agent exposures.
"Some cases appear to show additional signs consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents," WHO stated.
Russia has claimed Tuesday’s deaths were the result of Syrian aviation targeting a facility where projectiles were being stuffed with toxic agents, while Western countries have indicated they believe it was government forces who used “illegal weapons.”
"All the evidence I have seen suggests this was the Assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
US President Donald Trump brought up his predecessor’s failure to follow through on a “red line” against Assad in 2013.
“[The] chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world,” a statement from Trump read.
“The horrific events of yesterday demonstrate, unfortunately, that war crimes are going on in Syria,” Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said.
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs called the event a “horrific chemical attack” in her opening remarks.
“We have a responsibility to put an end to this war,” Federica Mogherini said.
At last year’s meeting in London, donors pledged $12 billion in relief.
Regardless of pledged relief, delivering it to those in need has proven difficult for humanitarians.
“The difficulty of the continuing conflict in Syria has been that access for aid agencies, particularly the UN and international agencies, has been extremely dependent upon trying to secure through negotiations safe, unimpeded access and this has been extraordinarily difficult to secure — and above all with government of Syria,” Stephen O’Brien, the UN’s Under Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told Rudaw last month.
More than five million people have fled Syria since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, and the UN has estimated that around 400,000 people have been killed.
The World Health Organization has stated that the cases are consistent with nerve agent exposures.
"Some cases appear to show additional signs consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents," WHO stated.
Russia has claimed Tuesday’s deaths were the result of Syrian aviation targeting a facility where projectiles were being stuffed with toxic agents, while Western countries have indicated they believe it was government forces who used “illegal weapons.”
"All the evidence I have seen suggests this was the Assad regime who did it in the full knowledge that they were using illegal weapons in a barbaric attack on their own people," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
US President Donald Trump brought up his predecessor’s failure to follow through on a “red line” against Assad in 2013.
“[The] chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible and cannot be ignored by the civilized world,” a statement from Trump read.
Falah Mustafa, head of the Department of Foreign Relations has been representing the Kurdistan Regional Government at the conference.