News Analysis |
In the latest of developments in Syria, where the government forces are heading for a final nail in the coffin of rebellion in Idlib, Russia has accused the United States of America for the use of chemical weapons over the civilian population. Russia on Sunday accused the United States of carrying out bombing using white phosphorous in eastern Syria against military targets in civilian areas, which is banned under international law.
“Two American F-15 planes carried out bombings on September 8 [Saturday] targeting the area of Hajin in the Deir Ezzor region using incendiary phosphorous ammunition,” Russian general Vladimir Savtchenko said in a statement. Though the U.S operations in Syria have been cut down to negligible magnitude, it still carries out strikes against the remnants of ISIS pockets in Syria. The United States via on ground help from Kurdish militia has rooted out ISIS from Syria to a major extent.
Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, OPCW, is the world’s go-to chemical weapons watchdog which initially used to investigate the credibility of the reports made with regard to the usage of chemical weapons.
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Friday accused Russia of lies and covering up for Assad, which she said had used chemical weapons at least 50 times in the past seven years of warfare. “Russia can complain all it wants about fake news, but no one is buying its lies and its coverups,” she said. “Russia was supposed to guarantee Assad would not use chemical weapons, and Russia did the opposite.”
The history of each side blaming other for the use of chemical weapons, which are prohibited as per the international law, goes back to several years since the inception of the Syrian civil war. Generally, the stream of accusation has a flow from western coalition toward Assad regime and its partner Russia. But it is no longer a myth that the Sarine and phosphorus were indiscriminatingly being used by both the sides.
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In fact, the two times the United States directly targeted Syrian army installations via cruise missile were also under the impression that the Syrian government must be held accountable for the usage of chemical weapons in general and against non-combatant, civilian population. There has always been the debate about a neutral yet powerful authority having enough credibility to investigate the claims made for the heinous crimes of using prohibited and toxic agents.
Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, OPCW, is the world’s go-to chemical weapons watchdog which initially used to investigate the credibility of the reports made with regard to the usage of chemical weapons. Its report was most of the time contested and even discarded by Russia for being biased. Recently, the body was given additional powers to declare the responsible entity for going against the international law.
It is primarily the reason why they were seldom to none used in the WWII but it is a sad reality that in the contemporary world, the primitive and inhumane practices are back. If an example will not be set at this point of history, it is only going to get worse in future.
The precedence tells that the global powers are met with impunity by the international community and the global organizations installed to keep the check on the international law being followed. The Syrian conflict alone is enough to shed light upon the dismal state of the UN body and its auxiliaries to maintain the supremacy of international law and justice. It has been repeatedly established that no side in the Syrian conflict particularly is uninvolved in the grave human right violations yet the punitive measures are used as the strategic tool by sides against each other rather intermediary body intervening and sorting out the matters.
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Usage of chemical weapons which brought the havoc in WWI was banned for the gruesome effect it has over the victims. It is primarily the reason why they were seldom to none used in the WWII but it is a sad reality that in the contemporary world, the primitive and inhumane practices are back. If an example will not be set at this point of history, it is only going to get worse in future.