About 80% of All Chemical Weapons Victims in Syria Died in a Single Day
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Damascus – The Syrian Network for Human Rights
Today marks the twelfth anniversary of the largest chemical weapons attack in Syria, which targeted Eastern and Western Ghouta in the Damascus countryside at dawn on Wednesday, August 21, 2013. Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out a coordinated attack using missiles loaded with sarin gas, as part of a systematic policy of using chemical weapons against civilians, with clear targeting of women and children, with the intent of terrorizing society and imposing control by force.
This anniversary comes at a pivotal moment in Syria’s history, as the country enters a transitional phase marked by a growing government commitment to cooperating with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). This opens a real window for achieving justice, uncovering the full facts, and ensuring that all those responsible for these crimes are held accountable.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented this attack from its first minutes, and we issued the first human rights report on this horrific incident on August 26, 2013. On the night of August 21, 2013, Assad regime forces launched four simultaneous chemical attacks on populated areas in Eastern and Western Ghouta, including the town of Moadamiyeh al-Sham, using at least ten rockets loaded with sarin gas, with a total estimated quantity of approximately 200 liters. The rockets were launched from designated launchers after midnight, taking advantage of weather conditions that kept the toxic gases close to the ground, resulting in the largest possible number of victims while they slept, a clear indication of a premeditated intent to target civilians demanding political change. This was compounded by a stifling blockade imposed since the end of 2012, which prevented the entry of fuel, medicine, and medical supplies needed to treat the wounded, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
The Human Toll: Nearly 80% of Syria’s Chemical Weapons Victims Fell in the Ghouta Attack
The Syrian Network for Human Rights recorded the deaths of 1,144 people due to suffocation, equivalent to approximately 76% of the total victims of chemical attacks carried out by the regime between December 2012 and May 2019. The toll of this attack was distributed as follows: 1,119 civilians were killed, including 99 children and 194 women (adult females), proving the direct targeting of civilians; in addition, 25 armed-opposition fighters were killed. Approximately 5,935 people, the majority of whom were civilians, suffered respiratory symptoms and suffocation due to exposure to toxic gases.
Ongoing Repercussions
The effects of the attacks on Ghouta continue to manifest in chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, psychological disorders including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as birth defects and developmental problems in children born to parents who were attacked. The social and economic impacts have been exacerbated by the loss of breadwinners and the deterioration of the productive capacity of those affected. Together, these repercussions underscore the urgent need for comprehensive compensation and long-term rehabilitation programs for victims and their families.
Record of Chemical Attacks between 2012 and the Fall of the Bashar al-Assad Regime
The Syrian Network for Human Rights documented 222 chemical attacks in Syria from the first use of chemical weapons on December 23, 2012, to December 8, 2024. Approximately 98% of these attacks were carried out by Bashar al-Assad regime forces, and approximately 2% by ISIS.
The attacks and resulting casualties were distributed according to the perpetrators as follows: Regime forces carried out 217 chemical attacks, resulting in the deaths of 1,514 people, including 1,413 civilians (including 214 children and 262 women), 94 armed-opposition fighters, and 7 regime forces’ prisoners held by the opposition. 11,080 people were injured, including 5 regime forces’ prisoners held by the opposition. Meanwhile, ISIS carried out five chemical attacks in Aleppo Governorate, resulting in 132 injuries.
SNHR’s Call for the Destruction of Remaining Chemical Stockpiles After the Fall of the Assad Regime
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, the Network emphasized in its statement issued on December 17, 2024, the necessity of full cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to identify all remaining chemical weapons sites in Syria and ensure their complete destruction, preventing any future use, given the grave threat these weapons pose to civilian lives. SNHR has continued to monitor this issue by documenting attacks, issuing detailed reports and statements, and cooperating with relevant international teams and organizations, most notably the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Reports from the Investigation and Attribution Team (IAT) issued on April 8, 2020, April 12, 2021, and January 27, 2023, revealed the regime’s responsibility for five chemical attacks. Meanwhile, the OPCW’s progress reports, the most recent of which was dated July 24, 2024, confirmed that the former regime’s declaration of its stockpile was inaccurate or incomplete due to unresolved gaps and inconsistencies. Accordingly, it is clear that the regime has not declared its entire stockpile or all the facilities used to produce or possess it, and it is likely that new facilities will be allocated or established after the destruction of the facilities declared upon its accession to the Convention in September 2013.
