Ghouta chemical attack#United States

Inspectors from the United Nations Mission already in Syria to investigate an earlier alleged chemical weapons attack{{rp|page=6}}{{cite web|last=Abrahams|first=Fred|title=Dispatches: The Longest Short Walk in Syria?|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=22 August 2013|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/22/dispatches-longest-short-walk-syria|access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822162833/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/22/dispatches-longest-short-walk-syria|archive-date=22 August 2013|url-status=live}} requested access to sites in Ghouta the day after the attack{{cite news|title=Use of chemical weapons in Syria would be 'crime against humanity' – Ban|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45684|access-date=15 April 2015|publisher=United Nations News Centre|date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705092144/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45684|archive-date=5 July 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Kim|last=Sengupta|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/chemical-attack-in-syria-as-damascus-buries-its-dead-the-world-demands-answers-8780967.html|title='Chemical attack' in Syria: As Damascus buries its dead, the world demands answers|work=The Independent|date=22 August 2013|access-date=15 April 2015|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925193104/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/chemical-attack-in-syria-as-damascus-buries-its-dead-the-world-demands-answers-8780967.html|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first1=Martin|last1=Chulov|first2=Mona|last2=Mahmood|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/syria-gas-attack-blood-tests|title=Syrian victims of alleged gas attack smuggled to Jordan for blood tests|work=The Guardian|date=23 August 2013|access-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614023054/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/syria-gas-attack-blood-tests|archive-date=14 June 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-forces-keep-bombing-area-of-alleged-chemical-weapons-attack/|title=Syria forces keep bombing area of alleged chemical weapons attack|publisher=CBS News|agency=Association Press|date=22 August 2013|access-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924160805/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-forces-keep-bombing-area-of-alleged-chemical-weapons-attack/|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} and called for a ceasefire to allow inspectors to visit the Ghouta sites. The Syrian Ba'athist government granted the UN's request on 25 August,{{cite news|title=Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria|url=https://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7041|date=25 August 2013|access-date=25 August 2013|publisher=United Nations Secretary-General|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825205025/http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7041|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Syria to allow UN to inspect 'chemical weapons' site|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23833912|date=25 August 2013|access-date=25 August 2013|publisher=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825130344/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23833912|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}} and inspectors visited and investigated Moadamiyah in Western Ghouta the next day and Zamalka and Ein Tarma in Eastern Ghouta on 28 and 29 August.{{rp|page=6}}{{cite news|title=Syria: UN chemical weapons team reaches inspection site after convoy hit with sniper fire|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45701&Cr=Syria&Cr1=|access-date=5 September 2013|publisher=United Nations News Service|date=26 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830195242/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45701&Cr=syria&Cr1=|archive-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Berthiaume|first=Lee|title=U.S. lays groundwork for strike against Syria as Kerry claims chemical attack was a 'moral obscenity'|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/26/u-s-lays-groundwork-for-strike-against-syria-as-kerry-claims-chemical-attack-was-a-moral-obscenity/|access-date=5 September 2013|newspaper=National Post|date=27 August 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130831164356/http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/08/26/u-s-lays-groundwork-for-strike-against-syria-as-kerry-claims-chemical-attack-was-a-moral-obscenity/|archive-date=31 August 2013|url-status=live}}

The UN investigation team confirmed "clear and convincing evidence" of the use of sarin delivered by surface-to-surface rockets,{{cite web|first1=Åke|last1=Sellström|author-link=Åke Sellström|first2=Scott|last2=Cairns|first3=Maurizio|last3=Barbeschi|title=Report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic on the alleged use of chemical weapons in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013|publisher=United Nations|date=16 September 2013|url=https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/780cfafd472b047785257b1000501037/e4d4477c9b67de9085257bf800694bd2/$FILE/A%2067%20997-S%202013%20553.pdf|access-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918143302/http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/Secretary_General_Report_of_CW_Investigation.pdf|archive-date=18 September 2013|url-status=dead}} and a 2014 report by the UN Human Rights Council found that "significant quantities of sarin were used in a well-planned indiscriminate attack targeting civilian-inhabited areas, causing mass casualties. The evidence available concerning the nature, quality and quantity of the agents used on 21 August indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military, as well as the expertise and equipment necessary to safely manipulate large amount of chemical agents." It also stated that the chemical agents used in the Khan al-Assal chemical attack earlier in 2013 "bore the same unique hallmarks as those used in Al-Ghouta".{{cite news|work=The Guardian|date=5 March 2014|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/sarin-gas-attack-civilians-syria-government-un|title=Sarin gas in attack on Syrian civilians probably government's, says UN|first=Martin|last=Chulov|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101714/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/sarin-gas-attack-civilians-syria-government-un|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}

The Syrian opposition as well as many governments, the Arab League and the European Union{{cite web|author=Elizabeth Dickinson|url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/arab-league-says-assad-crossed-global-red-line-with-chemical-attack|title=Arab League says Assad crossed 'global red line' with chemical attack|work=The National|location=Abu Dhabi|url-status=dead|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920012715/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/arab-league-says-assad-crossed-global-red-line-with-chemical-attack|archive-date=20 September 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-league-idUSBRE97Q0NI20130827|title=Arab League blames Syria's Assad for chemical attack|agency=Reuters|date=27 August 2013|access-date=9 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830070542/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/27/us-syria-crisis-league-idUSBRE97Q0NI20130827|archive-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Syrian forces may have used gas without Assad's permission|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-germany-idUSBRE98707B20130908|date=8 September 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|agency=Reuters|first=Alexandra|last=Hudson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924184442/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/08/us-syria-crisis-germany-idUSBRE98707B20130908|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} stated the attack was carried out by forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.{{cite news|last=Blake|first=Aaron|title=White House lists 10 countries supporting action on Syria|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/06/white-house-lists-10-allies-on-syria/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=6 September 2013|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921063604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/09/06/white-house-lists-10-allies-on-syria/|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} The Syrian and Russian governments blamed the opposition for the attack,{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23845800|title=Syria crisis: Russia and China step up warning over strike|date=27 August 2013|access-date=27 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827043526/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23845800|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=live}} the Russian government calling the attack a false flag operation by the opposition to draw foreign powers into the civil war on the rebels' side.{{cite news|first=Vladimir V.|last=Putin|work=The New York Times|date=11 September 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html|title=A Plea for Caution From Russia|access-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912205013/http://www.nytimes.com//2013/09/12/opinion/putin-plea-for-caution-from-russia-on-syria.html|archive-date=12 September 2013|url-status=live}} Åke Sellström, the leader of the UN Mission, characterized government explanations of rebel chemical weapons acquisition as unconvincing, resting in part upon "poor theories".{{cite news|url=http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf|title=Modern Warfare|first=Gwyn|last=Winfield|work=CBRNe World|date=February 2014|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221234407/http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/Sellstrom_Feb_2014_v2.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2014|url-status=dead}}

Several countries including France, the United Kingdom and the United States debated whether to intervene militarily against Syrian Ba'athist government forces.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/british-parliament-votes-against-possible-military-action-syria-f8C11028882|publisher=NBC News|title=British Parliament votes against possible military action in Syria|date=30 August 2013|access-date=16 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905161137/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/british-parliament-votes-against-possible-military-action-syria-f8C11028882|archive-date=5 September 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/08/30/hollande-au-monde-le-massacre-de-damas-ne-peut-ni-ne-doit-rester-impuni_3468851_823448.html|language=fr|work=Le Monde|title=Réforme pénale, Syrie, pression fiscale... Hollande s'explique dans "Le Monde"|date=30 August 2013|access-date=18 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054106/http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/08/30/hollande-au-monde-le-massacre-de-damas-ne-peut-ni-ne-doit-rester-impuni_3468851_823448.html|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/29/theres-no-plan-for-canada-to-join-military-mission-in-syria-stephen-harper|newspaper=Toronto Sun|title=Stephen Harper: Canada has no plans to join Syria military mission|date=29 August 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921113734/http://www.torontosun.com/2013/08/29/theres-no-plan-for-canada-to-join-military-mission-in-syria-stephen-harper|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/turkey-military-on-alert_n_3830412.html|work=HuffPost|date=28 August 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|title=Turkey's Military on Alert Over Possible Syria Strike|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926055853/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/turkey-military-on-alert_n_3830412.html|archive-date=26 September 2013|url-status=live}} On 6 September 2013, the United States Senate filed a resolution to authorize use of military force against the Syrian military in response to the Ghouta attack.{{cite news|last=Cox|first=Ramsey|title=Reid files resolution to authorize force against Syria|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/161025-reid-files-resolution-to-authorize-force-against-syria/|access-date=9 September 2013|date=6 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714181332/http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/320695-reid-files-use-of-force-resolution-against-syria|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=live}} On 10 September 2013, the military intervention was averted when the Syrian government accepted a US–Russian negotiated deal to turn over "every single bit" of its chemical weapons stockpiles for destruction and declared its intention to join the Chemical Weapons Convention.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/10/syria-chemical-weapons-convention_n_3901417.html|work=HuffPost|title=Syria Will Sign Chemical Weapons Convention, Declare Arsenal, Foreign Ministry Says|date=10 September 2013|access-date=18 September 2013|first=Eline|last=Gordts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912003509/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/10/syria-chemical-weapons-convention_n_3901417.html|archive-date=12 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first1=Julian|last1=Borger|author1-link=Julian Borger|first2=Patrick|last2=Wintour|author2-link=Patrick Wintour|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/09/russia-syria-hand-over-chemical-weapons|title=Russia calls on Syria to hand over chemical weapons|work=The Guardian|date=9 September 2013|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517232538/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/09/russia-syria-hand-over-chemical-weapons|archive-date=17 May 2015|url-status=live}}

In June 2018 the OPCW noted with concern that the Syrian Arab Republic had in reality neither declared nor destroyed all of its chemical weapons and chemical weapons production facilities.{{cite news|author1=OPCW|author-link1=Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|title=Decision Addressing the Threat from Chemical Weapons Use|url=https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/CSP/C-SS-4/en/css4dec3_e_.doc.pdf|access-date=3 July 2019|date=27 June 2018|page=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804145445/https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/CSP/C-SS-4/en/css4dec3_e_.doc.pdf|archive-date=4 August 2019|url-status=live}}

File:Ghouta massacre4.JPG

{{see also|Siege of Eastern Ghouta|Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war|Syrian civil war|Syria and weapons of mass destruction}}

The Ghouta area is composed of densely populated suburbs to the east and south of Damascus, part of the province of Rif Dimashq.{{cite news|work=The Australian|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/veneer-of-peace-over-cradle-of-horror-in-damascus-syria/story-e6frg6so-1226705678797|title=Veneer of peace over cradle of horror in Damascus, Syria|date=28 August 2013|access-date=18 May 2015|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201185458/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/veneer-of-peace-over-cradle-of-horror-in-damascus-syria/story-e6frg6so-1226705678797|archive-date=1 February 2014|url-status=live}} Ghouta is a primarily conservative Sunni region.{{cite news|last=Kessler|first=Oren|author-link=Oren Kessler|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/US-urges-UNSC-to-end-neglect-act-on-Syria|title=US urges UNSC to end 'neglect', act on Syria|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|agency=Reuters|date=30 January 2012|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003453/http://www.jpost.com/International/US-urges-UNSC-to-end-neglect-act-on-Syria|archive-date=5 May 2015|url-status=live}} Since early in the civil war, civilians in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta almost entirely sided with the opposition to Syria's government.{{cite web|work=The Majalla|url=http://www.majalla.com/eng/2013/09/article55245345|author=Stephen Starr|title=War of Words|date=11 September 2013|access-date=11 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927064107/http://www.majalla.com/eng/2013/09/article55245345|archive-date=27 September 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324619504579028621159392790|first1=Sam|last1=Dagher|first2=Farnaz|last2=Fassihi|title=Syria Presses Offensive, Shrugs Off Gas Attack Claims|date=22 August 2013|access-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627040018/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324619504579028621159392790|archive-date=27 June 2015|url-status=live}} The opposition had controlled much of Eastern Ghouta since 2012, partly cutting off Damascus from the countryside. Muadamiyat al-Sham in Western Ghouta had been under government siege since April 2013.{{cite news|first=Sam|last=Dagher|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=2 October 2013|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303492504579111662761701676|title=Syrian Regime Chokes Off Food to Town That Was Gassed|access-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309071417/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303492504579111662761701676|archive-date=9 March 2015|url-status=live}} Ghouta had been the scene of continuing clashes for more than a year before the chemical attack, with government forces launching repeated missile assaults trying to dislodge the rebels. The week of the attack, the Syrian government launched an offensive to capture opposition-held Damascus suburbs.

The attack came one year and one day after US President Barack Obama's 20 August 2012 "red line" remarks, in which he warned: "We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground, that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation."{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|title=Obama warns Syria not to cross 'red line'|date=20 August 2012|publisher=CNN|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702203837/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/20/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Obama issues Syria a 'red line' warning on chemical weapons|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-issues-syria-red-line-warning-on-chemical-weapons/2012/08/20/ba5d26ec-eaf7-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_story.html|date=20 August 2012|first=James|last=Ball|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702061240/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-issues-syria-red-line-warning-on-chemical-weapons/2012/08/20/ba5d26ec-eaf7-11e1-b811-09036bcb182b_story.html|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Remarks by the President to the White House Press Corps|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/20/remarks-president-white-house-press-corps|date=20 August 2012|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204153906/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/20/remarks-president-white-house-press-corps|archive-date=4 February 2017|via=National Archives|publisher=White House|url-status=live}} Syria was one of five non-signatories to the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention at the time.

After the "red line" remarks, and before the chemical attack in Ghouta, chemical weapons were suspected to have been used in four attacks in the country.{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/21/a-partial-list-of-syrias-suspected-chemical-weapons-attacks-this-year/|title=A partial list of Syria's suspected chemical weapons attacks this year|first=Masuma|last=Ahuja|date=21 August 2013|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511091330/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/08/21/a-partial-list-of-syrias-suspected-chemical-weapons-attacks-this-year/|archive-date=11 May 2015|url-status=live}}

{{main|Khan al-Assal chemical attack}}

The Khan al-Assal chemical attack occurred on 19 March 2013, when a government-controlled area of Khan al-Asal, a district of Aleppo in northern Syria, was struck by a rocket containing the nerve agent sarin. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the attack resulted in at least 26 fatalities, including 16 government soldiers and 10 civilians.{{cite news|last=Barnard|first=Anne|title=Syria and Activists Trade Charges on Chemical Weapons|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html?pagewanted=all|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 March 2013|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408123317/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/world/middleeast/syria-developments.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=8 April 2017|url-status=live}} The Syrian government later reported to the United Nations that one soldier and 19 civilians died and that 17 soldiers and 107 civilians were injured.{{rp|page=32}} A medic at the local civilian hospital said he personally had witnessed Syrian army soldiers helping the wounded and dealing with fatalities at the scene.{{cite news|title=Syria chemical weapons: finger pointed at jihadists|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9950036/Syria-chemical-weapons-finger-pointed-at-jihadists.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 March 2013|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027233514/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9950036/Syria-chemical-weapons-finger-pointed-at-jihadists.html|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=live}}

It was later found that the sarin used in the Khan al-Assal attack "bore the same unique hallmarks" as the sarin used in the Ghouta attack.{{cite news|title=Chemical weapons used in Syria appear to come from army stockpile -UN|agency=Reuters|date=5 March 2014|access-date=15 April 2015|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/syria-crisis-chemical-idUSL6N0M21TT20140305|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305174135/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/05/syria-crisis-chemical-idUSL6N0M21TT20140305|archive-date=5 March 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=7th Report of Commission of Inquiry on Syria – A/HRC/25/65|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/53182eed4.html|type=PDF|access-date=1 April 2016|publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council|date=12 February 2014|page=19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417074741/http://www.refworld.org/docid/53182eed4.html|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live}}{{rp|page=19}}

{{main|Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic}}

The United Nations Human Rights Council established the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic on 22 August 2011 to investigate human rights violations during the Syrian civil war. One of the topics the commission investigated was possible use of chemical weapons. In early June 2013, the Fifth Report of the Commission of Inquiry stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe that toxic chemicals were used in four attacks, but more evidence was needed "to determine the precise chemical agents used, their delivery systems or the perpetrator".{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A-HRC-23-58_en.pdf|title=5th Report of Commission of Inquiry on Syria – A/HRC/23/58|publisher=United Nations Human Rights Council|date=4 June 2013|access-date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822033956/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A-HRC-23-58_en.pdf|archive-date=22 August 2015|url-status=live}} [http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session23/Pages/ListReports.aspx Final version dated 18 July 2013 found on this page. A/HRC/23/58] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611165933/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session23/Pages/ListReports.aspx |date=11 June 2015 }}{{rp|page=21}}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/frances-foreign-minister-says-military-options-on-the-table-after-confirmation-of-syria-sarin-gas-use/|title=France's foreign minister says military options on the table after confirmation of Syria sarin gas use|publisher=Fox News|date=4 June 2013|access-date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519170805/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/04/un-report-more-evidence-needed-on-syria-chemical-weapons-allegations/|archive-date=19 May 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Russia claims Syria rebels used sarin at Khan al-Assal|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23249104|date=9 July 2013|publisher=BBC News|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703081327/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23249104|archive-date=3 July 2015|url-status=live}} On 22 June, the head of the Commission of Inquiry, Paulo Pinheiro, said the UN could not determine who used chemical weapons in Syria based on evidence sent by the United States, Britain and France.{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/no-proof-who-used-chemical-weapons-un/story-fn3dxix6-1226667946080|title=No proof who used chemical weapons: UN|work=The Australian|date=22 June 2013|access-date=29 June 2015}}

US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel stated on 25 April that US intelligence showed the Assad government had likely used sarin on a small scale.{{cite news|url=http://archive.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=5229|title=Media Availability with Secretary Hagel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates|work=U.S. Department of Defense|date=25 April 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414084916/http://archive.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=5229|archive-date=14 April 2016|url-status=dead}} However, the White House announced that "much more" work had to be done to verify the intelligence assessments.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-29/obama-aide-says-more-work-needed-to-verify-syria-chemical-use.html|title=Carney Says More Work Needed to Verify Syria Chemical Use|date=29 April 2013|access-date=1 May 2013|publisher=Bloomberg News|first1=Mike|last1=Dorning|first2=David|last2=Lerman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502000119/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-29/obama-aide-says-more-work-needed-to-verify-syria-chemical-use.html|archive-date=2 May 2013|url-status=live}}

On 13 June 2013, the United States government publicly announced it had concluded that the Assad government had used limited amounts of chemical weapons on multiple occasions against rebel forces, killing 100 to 150 people. US officials stated that sarin was the agent used.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/middleeast/white-house-pushes-back-on-bill-clintons-syria-remarks.html|title=Syria Has Used Chemical Arms on Rebels, U.S. and Allies Find|work=The New York Times|date=13 June 2013|first1=Mark|last1=Mazzetti|author1-link=Mark Mazzetti|first2=Michael R.|last2=Gordon|author2-link=Michael R. Gordon|first3=Mark|last3=Landler|author3-link=Mark Landler|access-date=5 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615123547/http://www.nytimes.com//2013//06//14//world//middleeast//white-house-pushes-back-on-bill-clintons-syria-remarks.html|archive-date=15 June 2013|url-status=live}} Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes did not say whether this showed that Syria had crossed the "red line" established by President Obama in August 2012. Rhodes stated: "The president has said that the use of chemical weapons would change his calculus, and it has."{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-14/us-claims-proof-syria-using-chemical-weapons/4753582|title=US claims proof Syria using chemical weapons, offers 'military support' to rebels|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=14 June 2013|access-date=27 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825214854/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-14/us-claims-proof-syria-using-chemical-weapons/4753582|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}} The French government announced that its own tests confirmed US assertions.{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/french-tests-confirm-syrian-regime-used-chemical-weapons/article4783682.ece|title=French tests confirm Syrian regime used chemical weapons|work=The Hindu|date=5 June 2013|access-date=1 August 2013|location=Chennai, India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810003117/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/french-tests-confirm-syrian-regime-used-chemical-weapons/article4783682.ece|archive-date=10 August 2013|url-status=live}}

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said "the accusations of Damascus using chemical weapons put forth by the United States are not backed by credible facts".{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-xpm-2013-jun-14-la-fg-us-syria-20130615-story.html|title=Getting U.S. weapons to Syria rebels will take weeks|first1=Paul|last1=Richter|first2=Christi|last2=Parsons|first3=David S.|last3=Cloud|work=Los Angeles Times|date=14 June 2013|access-date=27 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622032702/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jun/14/world/la-fg-us-syria-20130615|archive-date=22 June 2015|url-status=live}} Lavrov further stated that the Syrian government had no motive to use chemical weapons since the government already maintained a military advantage over the rebel fighters.{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.de/russia-expresses-doubts-on-syrias-chemical-weapons-use/a-16885053|title=Russia expresses doubts on Syria's chemical weapons use|publisher=Deutsche Welle|date=15 June 2013|access-date=1 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617152036/http://www.dw.de/russia-expresses-doubts-on-syrias-chemical-weapons-use/a-16885053|archive-date=17 June 2013|url-status=live}}

The attacks affected two separate opposition-controlled districts in the Damascus suburbs, located 16 kilometres apart.{{cite book|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria_cw0913_web_1.pdf|title=Attacks on Ghouta: Analysis of Alleged Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria|publisher=Human Rights Watch|year=2013|access-date=29 April 2015|isbn=978-1623130534|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326042004/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria_cw0913_web_1.pdf|archive-date=26 March 2015|url-status=live}} [https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/09/10/attacks-ghouta/analysis-alleged-use-chemical-weapons-syria Web version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160218133441/https://www.hrw.org/report/2013/09/10/attacks-ghouta/analysis-alleged-use-chemical-weapons-syria |date=18 February 2016 }}{{rp|page=1}}

The first attack took place around 2:30 a.m. on 21 August 2013{{cite news|first=Bridget|last=Kendall|title=Syria 'chemical attack': Distressing footage under analysis|date=23 August 2013|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23806491|access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823212902/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23806491|archive-date=23 August 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=McDonnell|first1=Patrick J.|first2=Shashank|last2=Bengali|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-poison-gas-20130822,0,2731889.story|title=Syrian rebels allege new gas attack by government|work=Los Angeles Times|date=21 August 2013|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927152622/http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-poison-gas-20130822,0,2731889.story|archive-date=27 September 2013|url-status=live}} in Eastern Ghouta, a rebel-held suburb to the east of Damascus.{{cite news|url=http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE97K0EL20130822|title=Syrian forces bombard Damascus suburbs after rebels say gas attack kills hundreds|agency=Reuters|date=21 August 2013|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824035522/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE97K0EL20130822|archive-date=24 August 2013|url-status=dead}} The area was on a rebel weapons supply route from Jordan and had been under siege by the Syrian military and Hezbollah for months.{{cite web|first1=Ian|last1=Black|first2=Haroon|last2=Siddique|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/syria-poisonous-gas-attack-claim|title=Syria chemical weapons claims: UN to hold emergency meeting|work=The Guardian|date=21 August 2013|access-date=13 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411071705/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/syria-poisonous-gas-attack-claim|archive-date=11 April 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Blasts in the Night, a Smell, and a Flood of Syrian Victims|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/world/middleeast/blasts-in-the-night-a-smell-and-a-flood-of-syrian-victims.html|first1=Ben|last1=Hubbard|first2=Mark|last2=Mazzetti|author2-link=Mark Mazzetti|first3=Mark|last3=Landler|author3-link=Mark Landler|work=The New York Times|date=26 August 2013|access-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827202902/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/world/middleeast/blasts-in-the-night-a-smell-and-a-flood-of-syrian-victims.html|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=live}}

At least 8, and possibly 12, rockets struck within a 1500 by 500-meter area in the Zamalka and nearby Ein Tarma neighborhoods.{{refn |group=note |In their report Attacks on Ghouta, Human Rights Watch states: "Witness statements and information including GPS locations of rockets found in the area provided by local activists, as well as satellite imagery locations that match the location in the videos, have allowed Human Rights Watch to confirm at least four strike sites in Zamalka where at least eight 330mm rockets struck on August 21. This is unlikely to be a complete account of the number of rockets used in the attack."{{rp|page=7}} A map labeled "Map of the 330mm chemical rocket impact locations in Zamalka neighborhood" shows 12 sites.{{rp|page=VI}} The dimensions of the impact area was found by comparing the Human Rights Watch map to a scaled satellite image.}} The rockets were all of the same improvised type, each with an estimated capacity to carry {{convert|50-60|liters|sp=us}} of sarin.{{rp|page=9}}{{rp|page=24}} The rocket engine was similar in type and parameters to a 122 mm GRAD unguided surface-to-surface rocket, while the chemical warhead and the stabilization fin was of an artisan-type.{{cite web|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1006045/possible-implications-of-bad-intelligence.pdf|title=Possible Implications of Faulty US Technical Intelligence in the Damascus Nerve Agent Attack of August 21, 2013|date=14 January 2014|publisher=MIT Science, Technology, and Global Security Working Group|first1=Richard|last1=Lloyd|first2=Theodore A.|last2=Postol|access-date=26 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126002335/http://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1006045/possible-implications-of-bad-intelligence.pdf|archive-date=26 January 2014|url-status=live}} [https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1006045-possible-implications-of-bad-intelligence.html HTML version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326090917/https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1006045-possible-implications-of-bad-intelligence.html |date=26 March 2015 }} One (or both) of the labs examining the environmental samples taken from Zamalka (and Ein Tarma{{rp|pages=28–29}}) found at least traces of sarin in 14 of the 17 cases.{{rp|pages=45–49}} One of the labs described the sarin level as a "high level concentration" in 4 of the 17 samples.{{rp|pages=45–49}}

The second attack took place in the Western Ghouta area around 5:00 in the morning on 21 August. On 22 August, a witness who works for Moadamiya media center said he had counted seven rockets that fell in two areas of Moadamiya during the early morning of 21 August. He said four rockets hit next to the Rawda Mosque and another three in the area between Qahweh Street and Zeytouneh Street, which he said was approximately 500 meters to the east of the Rawda Mosque. He said all the rockets were of the same type.

While no chemical warhead was ever found in the Western Ghouta area, one rocket engine has been identified as a 140mm M-14 unguided surface-to-surface rocket. This type of rocket can be fitted with three types of warheads: high explosive-fragmentation, white phosphorus smoke, or a chemical warhead containing {{convert|2|liter|sp=us}} of sarin.{{rp|page=5}} None of the 13 environmental samples taken from Western Ghouta tested positive for sarin, although three had "degradation and/or by-products".{{rp|pages=43–45}}

{{see also|Syria chemical weapons program}}

At the time of the attack, Syria was not a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention,{{cite web|title=Member State – Syria|url=http://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/member-states/member-states-by-region/asia/member-state-syria/|publisher=Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505054257/http://www.opcw.org/about-opcw/member-states/member-states-by-region/asia/member-state-syria/|archive-date=5 May 2015|url-status=dead}} which prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of chemical weapons, although in 1968 it acceded to the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases. In 2012 Syria publicly stated it possessed chemical and biological weapons and would use them if it faced a foreign attack.{{cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-07-23/Syria-violence-rebels/56425402/1|title=Syria says it will use chemical weapons if attacked|work=USA Today|agency=Associated Press|date=23 July 2012|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427031607/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2012-07-23/Syria-violence-rebels/56425402/1|archive-date=27 April 2015|url-status=live}}

According to French intelligence, the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) is responsible for producing toxic agents for use in war. A group named "Branch 450" is allegedly responsible for filling munitions with chemicals and maintaining security of the chemical agent stockpiles. As of September 2013, French intelligence estimated the Syrian stockpile at 1,000 tonnes, including mustard gas, VX and "several hundred tonnes of sarin".

The UK's Joint Intelligence Committee publicly dismissed the possibility of rebel responsibility for the attack in Ghouta, stating that rebels are incapable of an attack of its scale. The Committee stated that "there is no credible intelligence or evidence to substantiate the claims or the possession of CW by the opposition".{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/29/world/europe/syria-civil-war/index.html|title=Official: U.S. may take unilateral action against Syria|publisher=CNN|date=30 August 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|first1=Matt|last1=Smith|first2=Chelsea J.|last2=Carter|first3=Frederik|last3=Pleitgen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102006/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/29/world/europe/syria-civil-war/index.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Åke Sellström, a Swedish scientist who led the UN mission to investigate the attacks, said it was difficult to see how rebels could have weaponized the toxins,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/24/syria-chemical-weapons-doubts-chlorine|title=Syria to hand over chemical weapons but doubts linger over full arsenal|first=Julian|last=Borger|author-link=Julian Borger|work=The Guardian|date=24 April 2014|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304220549/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/24/syria-chemical-weapons-doubts-chlorine|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}} but admitted that he did not know who the perpetrator was. According to the Associated Press, "chemical and biological weapons experts have been relatively consistent in their analysis, saying only a military force with access to and knowledge of missile delivery systems and the sarin gas suspected in Ghouta could have carried out an attack capable of killing hundreds of people."{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-chemical-weapons-attack-blamed-on-assad-but-wheres-the-evidence/|title=Syria chemical weapons attack blamed on Assad, but where's the evidence?|publisher=CBS News|agency=Associated Press|first=Tucker|last=Reals|date=30 August 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106052931/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57600624/syria-chemical-weapons-attack-blamed-on-assad-but-wheres-the-evidence/|archive-date=6 November 2013|url-status=live}}

Both the opposition and the Syrian government said a chemical attack was carried out in the suburbs around Damascus on 21 August 2013. Anti-government activists said the Syrian government was to blame for the attack, while the Syrian government said foreign fighters and their international backers were to blame.

On the day of the attack, George Sabra, the head of the Syrian National Council, said 1,300 people had been killed as shells loaded with poisonous gas rained down on the capital's eastern suburbs of Douma, Jobar, Zamalka, Arbeen and Ein Tarma. A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Council, Qassim Saadeddine, said, "people are growing desperate as they watch another round of political statements and UN meetings without any hope of action". Ahmad Jarba, who was the president of the Syrian National Coalition at the time of the attack, called on the UN investigators to travel to "the site of the massacre" and for an urgent United Nations Security Council meeting on the subject. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack was committed by the Syrian regime and called on Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, "to apply all pressure within his powers to pressure the Syrian regime".{{cite web|last1=Said|first1=Samira|last2=Fantz|first2=Ashley|title=Syrian activists: Videos show chemical weapons used|url=https://www.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war|publisher=CNN|access-date=1 November 2022|date=21 August 2013}}{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-chemical-weapons-questions/index.html|title=Suffering in Syria is clear, but cause and culprits are murky|first=Tim|last=Lister|publisher=CNN|date=21 August 2013|access-date=11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519014618/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-chemical-weapons-questions/index.html|archive-date=19 May 2015|url-status=live}}

The next day, a spokesman for the Syrian National Coalition, Khaled al-Saleh, said at least six doctors died after treating victims, and that they didn't yet have the number of dead first responders.{{cite news|author=Oren Dorell|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/22/syria-chemical-attack-responders-die/2686971/|title=Rebels: Syrian medics die after treating attack victims|work=USA Today|date=23 August 2013|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825035550/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/22/syria-chemical-attack-responders-die/2686971/|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}}

Syria's Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Qadri Jamil, said foreign fighters and their international backers were to blame for the attack.{{cite news|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-blames-rebels-for-alleged-chemical-attack-1.1310351|title=Syria blames rebels for alleged chemical attack|date=22 August 2013|access-date=1 April 2016|agency=Associated Press|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413180051/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-blames-rebels-for-alleged-chemical-attack-1.1310351|archive-date=13 April 2016|url-status=live}} Syrian state television, SANA, said the accusations were fabricated to distract a team of UN chemical weapons experts which had arrived three days before the attacks. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the claims that his government had used chemical weapons would go against elementary logic and that "accusations of this kind are entirely political".{{cite web|url=http://izvestia.ru/news/556048|title=Bashar al-Assad: "All contracts concluded with Russia fulfilled"|work=Izvestia|date=26 August 2013|access-date=21 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731013001/http://izvestia.ru/news/556048|archive-date=31 July 2015|url-status=live}} [http://izvestia.ru/news/556036 Original Russian version] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714115616/http://izvestia.ru/news/556036 |date=14 July 2015 }}

{{main |United Nations Mission to Investigate Alleged Uses of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic}}

On 19 March 2013, the Syrian government reported to the UN Security Council that the rebels had fired a rocket containing chemical materials into a government controlled part of Khan al-Asal, a district of Aleppo in northern Syria,{{cite news|title=Letter from the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations|url=https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2013/172|access-date=8 February 2014|publisher=United Nations|date=19 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214081227/http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S%2F2013%2F172|archive-date=14 December 2013}} and requested a UN mission to investigate it.{{cite news|title=Secretary-General's Press Encounter on Syrian Government Request|url=https://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=2745|publisher=United Nations|location=New York|date=21 March 2013|access-date=28 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321080116/http://www.un.org/sg/offthecuff/index.asp?nid=2745|archive-date=21 March 2016|url-status=live}} As a response, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon created the "United Nations Mission to Investigate Alleged Uses of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic".{{cite news|title=UN chief announces independent probe into allegations of chemical attack in Syria|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44450|access-date=8 April 2014|publisher=United Nations|location=New York|date=21 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724103405/https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44450|archive-date=24 July 2017|url-status=live}} The Syrian government first refused to allow the UN mission to be expanded to places outside Khan al-Assal,{{cite news|author=Haroon Siddique|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/09/syria-rejects-extended-chemical-weapons-probe-live|title=Syria rejects extended chemical weapons probe|date=9 April 2013|work=The Guardian|access-date=29 May 2013|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130804174612/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/09/syria-rejects-extended-chemical-weapons-probe-live|archive-date=4 August 2013|url-status=live}} but agreed in July 2013 to also allow investigation of the alleged attack in Sheikh Maqsood on 13 April 2013 and the alleged attack in Saraqib on 29 April 2013.{{cite news|title=UN chemical weapons inspectors arrive in Syria|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23747375|date=18 August 2013|publisher=BBC|access-date=20 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203192500/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23747375|archive-date=3 December 2017|url-status=live}}{{rp|page=7}}

On 23 April 2013, The New York Times reported that the British and French governments had sent a confidential letter to the UN Secretary-General, stating there was evidence that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in Aleppo, Homs and perhaps Damascus. Israel also claimed that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons on 19 March near Aleppo and Damascus.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/world/middleeast/israel-says-syria-has-used-chemical-weapons.html|title=Israel Says Syria Has Used Chemical Weapons|work=The New York Times|date=24 April 2013|first1=David E.|last1=Sanger|author1-link=David E. Sanger|first2=Jodi|last2=Rudoren|author2-link=Jodi Rudoren|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409003519/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/world/middleeast/israel-says-syria-has-used-chemical-weapons.html|archive-date=9 April 2017|url-status=live}} On 24 April, Syria blocked UN investigators from entering Syria, while UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said this would not prevent an inquiry from being carried out.{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: UN to study soil samples for proof of sarin gas|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/24/syria-un-soil-sarin-gas|newspaper=The Guardian|date=24 April 2013|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221070402/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/apr/24/syria-un-soil-sarin-gas|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}

On 18 August 2013, three days before the Ghouta attack, a UN mission headed by Åke Sellström arrived in Damascus with permission from the Syrian government to investigate earlier alleged chemical weapons use.{{cite news|title=Syria: UN chief 'shocked' by new allegations of chemical weapons use|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45668&Cr=syria&Cr1=|access-date=8 September 2013|newspaper=UN News Center|date=21 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921135553/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45668&Cr=syria&Cr1=|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} On the day of the attack, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed "the need to investigate [the Ghouta incident as] soon as possible", hoping for consent from the Syrian government. The next day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged government and opposition forces to allow an investigation{{cite news|title=Pillay says Syrian chemical weapons allegations 'exceptionally grave', investigation essential|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13652&LangID=E|access-date=8 September 2013|newspaper=U.N. Human Rights News|date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053830/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13652&LangID=E|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} and Ban requested the government provide immediate access.{{cite news|title=Syria: Ban sending official request to allow UN probe of alleged chemical weapons use|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45677&Cr=syria&Cr1=|access-date=8 September 2013|newspaper=UN News Centre|date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827132019/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45677&Cr=syria&Cr1=|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=live}} On 23 August, clashes between rebel and government forces continued in and around Ghouta, government shelling continued and UN inspectors were denied access for a second day. White House officials were convinced that the Syrian government was trying to hide the evidence of chemical weapons use by shelling the sites and delaying their inspection.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324906304579039342815115978|work=The Wall Street Journal|title=U.S., Allies Prepare to Act as Syria Intelligence Mounts|date=27 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|first1=Adam|last1=Entous|first2=Sam|last2=Dagher|first3=Siobhan|last3=Gorman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328015127/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324906304579039342815115978|archive-date=28 March 2015|url-status=live}} Ban called for a ceasefire to allow the inspectors to visit the attack sites. On 25 August the government and various rebel factions agreed to a ceasefire for five hours each day from 26 to 29 August.{{cite news|title=U.S. official: Almost no doubt Assad regime used chemical weapons|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/25/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=wo_c1|access-date=8 September 2013|publisher=CNN|date=26 August 2013|author=Frederik Pleitgen|author2=Josh Levs|author3=Hamdi Alkhashali|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053420/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/25/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html?hpt=wo_c1|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Sample|work=The Guardian|date=16 September 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/un-inspectors-syria-sarin-gas|title=UN inspectors in Syria: under fire, in record time, sarin is confirmed|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151028034042/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/un-inspectors-syria-sarin-gas|archive-date=28 October 2015|url-status=live}}

Early in the morning of 26 August several mortars hit central Damascus, including one that fell near the Four Seasons Hotel where the UN inspectors were staying.{{cite news|agency=Reuters|date=26 August 2013|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-mortars-idUSBRE97P07320130826|title=At least two mortar bombs hit Damascus near U.N. team's hotel|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406193523/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/us-syria-crisis-mortars-idUSBRE97P07320130826|archive-date=6 April 2015|url-status=live}} Later in the day the UN team came under sniper fire en route to Moadamiyah in western Ghouta (to the southwest of central Damascus), forcing them to return to their hotel and replace one of their vehicles before continuing their investigation four hours later.BBC, 26 August 2013, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23838900 Syria crisis: UN inspectors' convoy hit by sniper fire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715144655/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23838900 |date=15 July 2018 }} The attack prompted a rebuke from Ban toward the fighters.{{cite news|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/08/us-inspectors-fired-syria-cameron-pushes-obama-act/68701/|work=The Atlantic|title=U.N. Inspectors Fired on in Syria, as Cameron Pushes Obama to Act|date=26 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829015636/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/08/us-inspectors-fired-syria-cameron-pushes-obama-act/68701/|archive-date=29 August 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/08/26/Inspectors-vehicle-fired-on-near-suspected-chemical-weapons-site/UPI-44821377498600/|agency=United Press International|title=U.N. inspectors told to leave reputed chemical weapons attack zone|date=26 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829032150/http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/08/26/Inspectors-vehicle-fired-on-near-suspected-chemical-weapons-site/UPI-44821377498600|archive-date=29 August 2013|url-status=live}} After returning to Moadamiyah the UN team visited clinics and makeshift field hospitals, collected samples and conducted interviews with witnesses, survivors and doctors.{{cite news|title=Syria: UN chemical weapons team reaches inspection site after convoy hit with sniper fire|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45701&Cr=Syria&Cr1=|access-date=8 September 2013|newspaper=UN News Centre|date=26 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830195242/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45701&Cr=syria&Cr1=|archive-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live}} The inspectors spoke with 20 victims of the attacks and took blood and hair samples, soil samples, and samples from domestic animals. As a result of the delay caused by the sniper attack, the team's time in Moadamiyah was substantially shortened, with the scheduled expiry of the daily cease-fire leaving them around 90 minutes on the ground.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2013/aug/26/syria-crisis-military-action-un-inspectors-vist-chemical-attack|work=The Guardian|date=26 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|title=Syria: US secretary of state John Kerry calls chemical attack 'cowardly crime' – as it happened|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827203911/http://www.theguardian.com/world/middle-east-live/2013/aug/26/syria-crisis-military-action-un-inspectors-vist-chemical-attack|archive-date=27 August 2013|url-status=live}}

On 28 and 29 August the UN team visited Zamalka and Ein Tarma in Eastern Ghouta, east of central Damascus, for a total time of five-and-a-half hours.{{rp|page=6}} On 30 August the team visited a Syrian government military hospital in Mazzeh and collected samples.{{cite news|work=Daily Star|location=Lebanon|date=31 August 2013|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-31/229439-un-inspectors-wrap-up-work-in-damascus.ashx|title=U.N. inspectors wrap up work in Damascus|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317204950/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Aug-31/229439-un-inspectors-wrap-up-work-in-damascus.ashx|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=live}} The mission left Syria early on 31 August,{{cite news|first=Ryan|last=Lucas|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/31/un-experts-syria-lebanon_n_3846946.html|work=HuffPost|title=UN Experts Enter Lebanon After Leaving Syria|date=31 August 2013|access-date=15 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924191019/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/31/un-experts-syria-lebanon_n_3846946.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} over the objection of the Syrian government, promising to return to complete the original objective to investigate the previously alleged attack sites.

{{main|UN investigation of chemical weapons use in Ghouta}}

The UN report on the investigation into the Ghouta chemical attacks was published on 16 September 2013. The report stated: "the environmental, chemical and medical samples we have collected provide clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent sarin were used in Ein Tarma, Moadamiyah and Zamalka in the Ghouta area of Damascus."{{rp|page=8}}{{cite web|last1=Ban|first1=Ki-moon|title=Secretary-General's remarks to the Security Council on the report of the United Nations Missions to Investigate Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons on the incident that occurred on 21 August 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus|url=https://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7083|publisher=United Nations|access-date=16 April 2015|date=16 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423192009/http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7083|archive-date=23 April 2015|url-status=live}} UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the findings "beyond doubt and beyond the pale", and clear evidence of a war crime. "The results are overwhelming and indisputable", he said. Ban stated a majority of the blood samples, environmental samples and rockets or rocket fragments recovered tested positive for sarin.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/kerry-un-will-enforce-deal-to-rid-syria-of-chemical-weapons/2013/09/16/0f1d9bf6-1eb6-11e3-94a2-6c66b668ea55_story.html|title=In Syria, U.N. inspectors find 'clear and convincing' evidence of chemical attack|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=16 September 2013|first1=Colum|last1=Lynch|first2=Karen|last2=DeYoung|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012202303/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-16/world/42090392_1_opcw-chemical-stockpiles-sarin|archive-date=12 October 2013|url-status=live}} The report, which was "careful not to blame either side", said that during the mission's work in areas under rebel control, "individuals arrived carrying other suspected munitions indicating that such potential evidence is being moved and possibly manipulated".{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/world/223867501.html|title=UN finds 'convincing evidence' of chemical weapons used in Syria but assesses no blame|work=Star Tribune|agency=Associated Press|date=16 September 2013|first=Edith M.|last=Lederer|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504211653/http://www.startribune.com/world/223867501.html|archive-date=4 May 2015|url-status=live}} The UN investigators were accompanied by a rebel leader:

{{blockquote|1=A leader of the local opposition forces ... was identified and requested to take 'custody' of the Mission ... to ensure the security and movement of the Mission, to facilitate the access to the most critical cases/witnesses to be interviewed and sampled by the Mission and to control patients and crowd in order for the Mission to focus on its main activities.{{rp|page=13}}}}

The British UN Ambassador stated that the report's lead author, Åke Sellström, said the quality of the sarin used in the attack was higher than that used by Iraq in the Iran–Iraq War,{{cite news|title=U.N. confirms sarin used in Syria attack; U.S., UK, France blame Assad|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE98F0ED20130916|first1=Louis|last1=Charbonneau|first2=Michelle|last2=Nichols|date=16 September 2015|access-date=7 May 2015|agency=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325014412/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/16/us-syria-crisis-un-idUSBRE98F0ED20130916|archive-date=25 March 2015|url-status=live}} implying a purity higher than the Iraqi chemical weapons program's low purity of 45–60%.{{cite web|publisher=United Nations|author=UNMOVIC|url=https://www.un.org/depts/unmovic/new/documents/technical_documents/s-2006-701-munitions.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023080629/http://www.un.org/depts/unmovic/new/documents/technical_documents/s-2006-701-munitions.pdf|archive-date=23 October 2014|title=Annex – Overview of the chemical munitions recently found in Iraq|url-status=dead}}

According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of kilograms of sarin were used in the attack, which it said suggested government responsibility, as opposition forces were not known to possess significant amounts of sarin.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/sarin-attack-crimes-syria-justice|title=Sarin attack joins a long list of crimes in Syria, whose people cry out for justice|date=16 September 2013|first=Peter|last=Bouckaert|work=The Guardian|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227160042/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/16/sarin-attack-crimes-syria-justice|archive-date=27 December 2015|url-status=live}}

The Russian government dismissed the initial UN report after it was released, calling it "one-sided" and "distorted".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/world/middleeast/syria.html|work=The New York Times|date=18 September 2013|access-date=28 April 2015|title=Russia Calls U.N. Chemical Report on Syria Biased|first1=Steven Lee|last1=Myers|first2=Rick|last2=Gladstone|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612065458/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/world/middleeast/syria.html|archive-date=12 June 2015|url-status=live}} On 17 September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated his government's belief that the opposition carried out the attacks as a "provocation".{{cite news|last=Lichfield|first=John|title=Syria crisis: Regime has given Russia 'proof' of rebel chemical weapon use|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/syria-crisis-regime-has-given-russia-proof-of-rebel-chemical-weapon-use-8822185.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=17 September 2013|location=London|access-date=28 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808070323/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/syria-crisis-regime-has-given-russia-proof-of-rebel-chemical-weapon-use-8822185.html|archive-date=8 August 2017|url-status=live}} The United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane said the inspection team would review Russia's objections.{{cite news|last1=Gladstone|first1=Rick|last2=Sengupta|first2=Somini|title=Missed Opportunity in Syria Haunts U.N. Official|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/world/middleeast/syria.html|access-date=3 October 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003181448/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/world/middleeast/syria.html|archive-date=3 October 2013|url-status=live}}

An August 2013 Scientific American article described difficulties that could arise when attempting to identify the manufacturer of sarin from soil or tissue samples.{{cite web|first=Dina|last=Fine Maron|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=who-made-the-sarin|title=Who Made the Sarin Used in Syria?|work=Scientific American|date=3 September 2013|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214160419/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=who-made-the-sarin|archive-date=14 December 2013|url-status=live}}

The UN inspection team returned to Syria to continue investigations into other alleged chemical attacks in late September 2013.

A final report on Ghouta and six other alleged attacks (including three alleged to have occurred after the Ghouta attack) was released in December 2013. The inspectors wrote that they "collected clear and convincing evidence that chemical weapons were used also against civilians, including children, on a relatively large scale in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August 2013". The conclusion was based on:

• Impacted and exploded surface-to-surface rockets, capable to carry a chemical payload, were found to contain sarin;
• Close to the rocket impact sites, in the area where patients were affected, the environment was found to be contaminated by sarin;
• The epidemiology of over fifty interviews given by survivors and health care workers provided ample corroboration of the medical and scientific results;
• A number of patients/survivors were clearly diagnosed as intoxicated by an organophosphorous compound;
• Blood and urine samples from the same patients were found positive for sarin and sarin signatures.{{rp|page=19}}

The 7th Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, a different group than the UN fact-finding mission, stated the sarin used in the Ghouta attack bore the "same unique hallmarks" as the sarin used in the Khan al-Assal attack. The report, dated 12 February 2014, also indicated that the perpetrators likely had access to the chemical weapons stockpile of the Syrian military. These conclusions were based on the fact-finding mission's evidence, as the Commission of Inquiry did not conduct its own investigation of either chemical attack.

The continuous fighting has severely limited the quality of medical care for injured survivors of the attack. A month after the attack, approximately 450 survivors still required medical attention for lingering symptoms such as respiratory and vision problems.{{cite news|last1=Morris|first1=Loveday|last2=Luck|first2=Taylor|title=A month after chemical attacks, Syrian residents of Ghouta struggle to survive|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-month-after-chemical-attacks-syrian-residents-of-ghouta-struggle-to-survive/2013/09/20/999e39a4-2238-11e3-ad1a-1a919f2ed890_story.html|access-date=13 October 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010055049/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-09-20/world/42249394_1_side-effects-zamalka-chemical-attack|archive-date=10 October 2013|url-status=live}} By early October 2013, the 13,000 residents of Moadhamiya, one of the places targeted in the August attack, had been surrounded by pro-government forces and under siege for five months. Severe malnourishment and medical emergencies had become pressing as all supply lines had stopped.{{cite web|title=Syria massacre: troops 'starve gas attack town' – video|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/moadhamiya-massacre-hezbollah-iran-assad-attack-video|work=Channel 4 News|date=6 October 2013|access-date=29 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317222522/http://www.channel4.com/news/moadhamiya-massacre-hezbollah-iran-assad-attack-video|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=live}} Care for chronic symptoms of sarin exposure had become "just one among a sea of concerns".

As countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom debated their response to the attacks, they encountered significant popular and legislative resistance to military intervention. In particular, British Prime Minister David Cameron's request to the House of Commons to use military force was declined by a 285–272 margin.{{cite news|title=British Prime Minister David Cameron loses parliamentary vote on Syrian military strike|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/british-prime-minister-david-cameron-loses-parliamentary-vote-on-syrian-military-strike/2013/08/29/4fabb080-10f7-11e3-bdf6-e4fc677d94a1_story.html|first=Anthony|last=Faiola|access-date=29 April 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=29 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508224913/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/british-prime-minister-david-cameron-loses-parliamentary-vote-on-syrian-military-strike/2013/08/29/4fabb080-10f7-11e3-bdf6-e4fc677d94a1_story.html|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=British lawmakers reject reprisal strike against Syria|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-xpm-2013-aug-29-la-fg-britain-syria-20130830-story.html|first=Henry|last=Chu|access-date=29 April 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=29 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702175352/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/aug/29/world/la-fg-britain-syria-20130830|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=live}} UK government policy subsequently focused on providing humanitarian assistance inside Syria and to refugees in neighboring countries.{{cite news|title=UK to press United Nations on Syria aid|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/syria-aid-united-nations-william-hague|access-date=29 April 2015|work=The Guardian|date=27 June 2014|agency=Press Association|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702123358/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/syria-aid-united-nations-william-hague|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=live}}

Within a month of the attacks, Syria agreed to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and allow all its stockpiles to be destroyed.{{cite news|last=Atlas|first=Terry|title=Assad Pledges Quick Moves on Chemical Weapons Elimination|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-19/assad-pledges-quick-moves-on-chemical-weapons-elimination.html|access-date=29 April 2015|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=19 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023152243/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-19/assad-pledges-quick-moves-on-chemical-weapons-elimination.html|archive-date=23 October 2013|url-status=live}} The destruction began under OPCW supervision on 6 October 2013.{{cite news|first=Mariam|last=Karouny|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-experts-idUSBRE99508920131007|title=Destruction of Syrian chemical weapons begins: mission|agency=Reuters|date=6 October 2013|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131007035957/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/07/us-syria-crisis-experts-idUSBRE99508920131007|archive-date=7 October 2013|url-status=live}} On 23 June 2014, the last shipment of Syria's declared chemical weapons was shipped out of the country for destruction.{{cite web|title=Last of Syria's chemical weapons shipped out|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27974379|publisher=BBC News|date=23 June 2014|access-date=9 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624212951/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27974379|archive-date=24 June 2014|url-status=live}} By 18 August 2014, all toxic chemicals were destroyed aboard the US naval vessel MV Cape Ray.{{cite news|first=Alan|last=Rappeport|author-link=Alan Rappeport|title=Syria's Chemical Arsenal Fully Destroyed, U.S. Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arsenal-fully-destroyed-us-says.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=9 May 2015|date=18 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823072043/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/middleeast/syrias-chemical-arsenal-fully-destroyed-us-says.html|archive-date=23 August 2014|url-status=live}}

Nine months after the attack, there was evidence that mothers from the affected areas were giving birth to children with defects and as stillborn.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10831062/Deformed-babies-born-in-Syria-after-Ghouta-gas-attack.html|title=Deformed babies born in Syria after Ghouta gas attack|work=The Daily Telegraph|first1=Damien|last1=McElroy|first2=Magdy|last2=Samaan|date=14 May 2014|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518101246/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10831062/Deformed-babies-born-in-Syria-after-Ghouta-gas-attack.html|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/May-14/256354-gas-attack-legacy-deformed-babies.ashx|title=Gas attack legacy: deformed babies|work=Daily Star|location=Lebanon|date=14 May 2014|access-date=7 May 2015|first1=Olivia|last1=Alabaster|first2=Diana|last2=Saad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518162104/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/May-14/256354-gas-attack-legacy-deformed-babies.ashx|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}}

Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi was quoted by the official state news agency, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), as saying that the government did not and would not use such weapons, if in fact they even existed. Al-Zoubi said, "everything that has been said is absurd, primitive, illogical and fabricated. What we say is what we mean: there is no use of such things (chemical weapons) at all, at least not by the Syrian army or the Syrian state, and it's easy to prove and it is not that complicated."{{cite news|first1=Samira|last1=Said|first2=Ashley|last2=Fantz|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|title=Syrian activists: Videos show chemical weapons used|publisher=CNN|access-date=30 June 2015|date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519115407/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|archive-date=19 May 2015|url-status=live}} SANA called the reports of chemical attacks as "untrue and designed to derail the ongoing UN inquiry". A Syrian military official appeared on state television denouncing the reports as "a desperate opposition attempt to make up for rebel defeats on the ground". Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad declared it a tactic by the rebels to turn around the civil war which he said "they were losing" and that, though the government had admitted to having stocks of chemical weapons, stated they would never be used "inside Syria".{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23927399|title=Syria chemical attacks: What we know|publisher=BBC|date=5 September 2013|access-date=9 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909101048/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23927399|archive-date=9 September 2013|url-status=live}} Democratic Union Party leader Salih Muslim said he doubted that the Syrian government carried out the chemical attack.{{cite web|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2013-08-26-kurdish-pyd-leader-assad-is-not-to-blame|title=Assad is not to blame for Syria chemical attacks, says Kurdish party leader|work=Mail & Guardian|date=26 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828211414/http://mg.co.za/article/2013-08-26-kurdish-pyd-leader-assad-is-not-to-blame/|archive-date=28 August 2013|url-status=live}}

The National Coalition called the attack a "coup de grace that kills all hopes for a political solution in Syria".{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1131320/syrian-rebels-1300-killed-in-gas-attack|title=Syrian Rebels: '1,300 Killed in Gas Attack'|publisher=BSkyB|date=21 August 2013|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828153525/http://news.sky.com/story/1131320/syrian-rebels-1300-killed-in-gas-attack|archive-date=28 August 2013|url-status=live}} In a statement on Facebook, the Coventry-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an anti-government activist network, blamed the attack on the Syrian military and said of the incident that "we assure the world that silence and inaction in the face of such gross and large-scale war crimes, committed in this instance by the Syrian regime, will only embolden the criminals to continue in this path. The international community is thus complicit in these crimes because of its [polarisation], silence and inability to work on a settlement that would lead to the end of the daily bloodshed in Syria."{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|title=Syrian activists: Videos show chemical weapons used|date=21 August 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|publisher=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922080846/http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/21/world/meast/syria-civil-war/index.html|archive-date=22 September 2013|url-status=live}}

{{main|International reactions to the Ghouta chemical attack}}{{see also|Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons|U.S.–Russia peace proposals on Syria}}

The international community condemned the attacks. United States President Barack Obama said the US military should strike targets in Syria to retaliate for the government's purported use of chemical weapons, a proposal publicly supported by French President François Hollande, but condemned by Russia and Iran.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/france-act-on-syria-without-britain-hollande|work=The Guardian|date=30 August 2013|access-date=31 August 2013|title=France could act on Syria without Britain, says François Hollande|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910204137/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/30/france-act-on-syria-without-britain-hollande|archive-date=10 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-prevent-military-strike-syria-20102934|publisher=ABC News|location=United States|title=Iran to Work With Russia to Stop Strike on Syria|date=29 August 2013|access-date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904005205/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-prevent-military-strike-syria-20102934|archive-date=4 September 2013|url-status=live}} The Arab League stated it would support military action against Syria in the event of UN support, though member states Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Tunisia opposed it.{{cite news|title=Arab League urges UN-backed action in Syria|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/20139118235327617.html|access-date=5 September 2013|date=3 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904124136/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/09/20139118235327617.html|archive-date=4 September 2013|url-status=live}}

At the end of August, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom voted against military intervention in Syria.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23892783|title=Syria crisis: Cameron loses Commons vote on Syria action|date=30 August 2013|access-date=18 September 2013|publisher=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906095823/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23892783|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}} In early September, the United States Congress began debating a proposed authorisation to use military force, although votes on the resolution were indefinitely postponed amid opposition from many legislators{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/09/obama-congress-syria-vote-in-doubt/2788597/|work=USA Today|first=Susan|last=Davis|title=Senate delays Syria vote as Obama loses momentum|date=10 September 2013|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613045440/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/09/09/obama-congress-syria-vote-in-doubt/2788597/|archive-date=13 June 2015|url-status=live}} and tentative agreement between Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on an alternative proposal, under which Syria would declare and surrender its chemical weapons to be destroyed under international supervision.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/world/middleeast/syria-talks.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|title=U.S. and Russia Reach Deal to Destroy Syria's Chemical Arms|date=14 September 2013|access-date=18 September 2013|first=Michael R.|last=Gordon|author-link=Michael R. Gordon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917001431/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/world/middleeast/syria-talks.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=17 September 2013|url-status=live}}

In contrast to the positions of their governments, polls in early September indicated that most people in the US, UK, Germany and France opposed military intervention in Syria.{{cite news|title=On Syria, Obama faces a skeptical public|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-syria-obama-faces-a-skeptical-public/2013/09/03/609f874c-14b0-11e3-a100-66fa8fd9a50c_story.html|access-date=5 September 2013|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=3 September 2013|author=David Fahrenthold|author2=Paul Kane|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905080557/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-syria-obama-faces-a-skeptical-public/2013/09/03/609f874c-14b0-11e3-a100-66fa8fd9a50c_story.html|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Vidalon|first=Dominique|title=Most French oppose attack on Syria and don't trust Hollande to do it: poll|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-france-poll-idUSBRE97U05120130831|access-date=5 September 2013|agency=Reuters|date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906070840/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/31/us-syria-crisis-france-poll-idUSBRE97U05120130831|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Helm|first=Toby|title=Poll finds 60% of British public oppose UK military action against Syria|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/31/poll-british-military-action-syria|access-date=5 September 2013|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903082005/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/31/poll-british-military-action-syria|archive-date=3 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Andy|title=U.S. public opposes Syria intervention as Obama presses Congress|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-usa-idUSBRE97T0NB20130903|access-date=5 September 2013|agency=Reuters|date=3 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905083405/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/03/us-syria-crisis-usa-idUSBRE97T0NB20130903|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Justyna|last=Pawlak|author2=Adrian Croft|title=EU blames Assad for chemical attack in nuanced message|date=7 September 2013|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-eu-idUSBRE9860DZ20130907|access-date=20 May 2015|agency=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924184426/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/07/us-syria-crisis-eu-idUSBRE9860DZ20130907|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} One poll indicated that 50% of Americans could support military intervention with cruise missiles only, "meant to destroy military units and infrastructure that have been used to carry out chemical attacks".{{cite news|last=Good|first=Chris|title=Polls: Americans Don't Want to Attack Syria, but Could Support Limited Action That Did Not Risk American Lives|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/polls-americans-attack-syria-support-limited-action/story?id=20118605|access-date=5 September 2013|publisher=ABC News|location=United States|date=30 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904011145/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/polls-americans-attack-syria-support-limited-action/story?id=20118605|archive-date=4 September 2013|url-status=live}} In a survey of American military personnel, around 75% said they opposed air strikes on Syria, with 80% saying an attack would not be "in the U.S. national interest".{{cite web|url=http://www.militarytimes.com/interactive/article/20130911/NEWS/309110009/Troops-oppose-strikes-Syria-by-3-1-margin|title=Troops oppose strikes on Syria by 3–1 margin|work=Military Times|date=12 September 2013|author=Andrew Tilghman|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917110358/http://www.militarytimes.com/interactive/article/20130911/NEWS/309110009/Troops-oppose-strikes-Syria-by-3-1-margin|archive-date=17 September 2013|url-status=live}}

The attacks prompted some U.S. intelligence officials to speculate they were carried out by the opposition in order to draw the West into the war, a concept dismissed by others.{{cite magazine|last1=Ahmad|first1=Muhammad|title=The New Truthers: Americans Who Deny Syria Used Chemical Weapons|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/114676/syrias-chemical-weapons-assad-not-blame-say-truthers|access-date=22 February 2016|magazine=The New Republic|date=11 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304170540/https://newrepublic.com/article/114676/syrias-chemical-weapons-assad-not-blame-say-truthers|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Cole|first1=Juan|title=Kerry signals US Intervention in Syria, but to What End?|url=http://www.juancole.com/2013/08/signals-intervention-syria.html|website=Informed Comment|date=27 August 2013|publisher=Juan Cole|access-date=22 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210093453/http://www.juancole.com/2013/08/signals-intervention-syria.html|archive-date=10 February 2016|url-status=live}} Other experts and officials questioned whether the government was responsible based on the timing of the attack, just after the UN Mission had arrived in Damascus, and lack of motivation, since the government was advancing in the area.{{cite news|title=Beyond reasonable doubt? Evidence on Syrian chemical atrocity fails to make a case for war|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/beyond-reasonable-doubt-evidence-on-syrian-chemical-atrocity-fails-to-make-a-case-for-war-8790589.html|work=Independent (U.K.)|date=30 August 2013|first=Kim|last=Sengupta|access-date=14 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103062424/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/beyond-reasonable-doubt-evidence-on-syrian-chemical-atrocity-fails-to-make-a-case-for-war-8790589.html|archive-date=3 January 2017|url-status=live}}

In December 2013, Seymour Hersh wrote in the London Review of Books (LRB) that a former intelligence official told him that in the days before and after the attack, sensors notifying U.S. intelligence agencies of Syrian chemical weapons deployment did not activate, and that a senior intelligence consultant told him that the U.S. president's Morning Report on 20–22 August contained no information about an impending government chemical weapons attack. In the article, Hersh related that a former senior U.S. intelligence official told him that the U.S. government's published assessment of the incident included an account of the sequence the Syrian military would have followed for any chemical attack, rather than intercepts specifically relating to the Ghouta attacks.{{cite web|last=Fisher|first=Max|title=The many problems with Seymour Hersh's Osama bin Laden conspiracy theory|website=Vox|date=2015-05-11|url=https://www.vox.com/2015/5/11/8584473/seymour-hersh-osama-bin-laden|access-date=2021-07-13}}{{cite web|last=Calderone|first=Michael|title=New Yorker, Washington Post Passed on Seymour Hersh Syria Report|website=HuffPost|date=2013-12-09|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/seymour-hersh-syria-report_n_4409674|access-date=2021-07-13}}

In April 2014 Hersh wrote an article, also published by the LRB, reporting that a former intelligence officer told him that the attacks were "covert action planned by Erdoğan's people to push Obama over the red line", speculating about Turkish government support for Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front's attempts to access sarin.{{cite web|last=Hersh|first=Seymour|author-link=Seymour Hersh|date=6 April 2014|title=The Red Line and the Rat Line|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/2014/04/06/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line|work=London Review of Books|access-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407092541/http://www.lrb.co.uk/2014/04/06/seymour-m-hersh/the-red-line-and-the-rat-line|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Is Assad to blame for the chemical weapons attack in Syria?|publisher=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/is-assad-to-blame-for-the-chemical-weapons-attack-in-syria/a-38330217|date=6 April 2017|access-date=2021-07-13}}{{cite web|last=Moukalled|first=Diana|author-link=Diana Moukalled|date=14 April 2014|title=To Believe or not to believe? Seymour Hersh's Syria allegations|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2014/04/14/To-be-believe-or-to-believe-Seymour-Hersh-s-Syria-allegations.html|publisher=Al Arabiya|access-date=25 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424125848/http://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/world/2014/04/14/To-be-believe-or-to-believe-Seymour-Hersh-s-Syria-allegations.html|archive-date=24 April 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=A History of Sarin Use in the Syrian Conflict|website=bellingcat|date=2017-09-06|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/09/06/history-sarin-use-syrian-conflict/|access-date=2021-07-13}}{{cite web|last=Gray|first=Rosie|author-link=Rosie Gray|title=Report: Obama Administration Knew Syrian Rebels Could Make Chemical Weapons|website=BuzzFeed News|date=2013-12-08|url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rosiegray/report-obama-administration-knew-syrian-rebels-could-make-ch|access-date=2021-07-13}} Hersh's argument received some support,{{cite news|last1=Fisk|first1=Robert|author-link=Robert Fisk|title=Has Recep Tayyip Erdogan gone from model Middle East 'strongman' to tin-pot dictator?|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/has-recep-tayyip-erdogan-gone-from-model-middle-east-strongman-to-tin-pot-dictator-9252366.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=The Independent|date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222165850/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/has-recep-tayyip-erdogan-gone-from-model-middle-east-strongman-to-tin-pot-dictator-9252366.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Cockburn|first=Patrick|author-link=Patrick Cockburn|title=CIA, MI6 and Turkey's rogue game in Syria: Claims Ankara worked with US and UK to smuggle Gaddafi's weapons to jihadi fighters, and Jabhat al-Nusra aided by Turkish intelligence in sarin gas attacks|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/cia-mi6-and-turkeys-rogue-game-in-syria-claims-ankara-worked-with-us-and-uk-to-smuggle-gaddafis-weapons-to-jihadi-fighters-and-jabhat-alnusra-aided-by-turkish-intelligence-in-sarin-gas-attacks-30183069.html|access-date=20 December 2015|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=14 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222174940/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/cia-mi6-and-turkeys-rogue-game-in-syria-claims-ankara-worked-with-us-and-uk-to-smuggle-gaddafis-weapons-to-jihadi-fighters-and-jabhat-alnusra-aided-by-turkish-intelligence-in-sarin-gas-attacks-30183069.html|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Eamonn McCann|title=A Hersh lesson from Syria for hawks in the US|website=Belfast Telegraph|date=2014-04-30|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/archive/eamonn-mccann/a-hersh-lesson-from-syria-for-hawks-in-the-us-30228964.html|access-date=2021-07-13}} but was dismissed by other commentators.{{cite web|last=Higgins|first=Eliot|author-link=Eliot Higgins|title=Sy Hersh's Chemical Misfire|website=Foreign Policy|date=2013-12-09|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/12/09/sy-hershs-chemical-misfire/|access-date=2021-07-13}}{{cite news|last=Akyol|first=Mustafa|author-link=Mustafa Akyol|date=22 April 2014|title=Turkey was inept, not evil, in Syria|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/opinion/turkey-was-inept-not-evil-in-syria.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422234736/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/opinion/turkey-was-inept-not-evil-in-syria.html|archive-date=22 April 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Stein|first=Aaron|title=Turkey's Syria Policy: Why Seymour Hersh Got It Wrong|url=http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/604329/turkeys-syria-policy-why-seymour-hersh-got-it-wrong/|website=Arms Control Wonk|publisher=Jeffrey Lewis|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220162606/http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/604329/turkeys-syria-policy-why-seymour-hersh-got-it-wrong/|archive-date=20 February 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Higgins|first1=Eliot|author1-link=Eliot Higgins|last2=Kaszeta|first2=Dan|title=It's clear that Turkey was not involved in the chemical attack on Syria|website=The Guardian|date=2014-04-22|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/22/allegation-false-turkey-chemical-attack-syria|access-date=2023-03-15}}{{cite web|last=Peled|first=Daniella|title=Why hasn't Seymour Hersh's Syria war crimes denial ended his career? – U.S. News|website=Haaretz|date=2018-07-22|url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-why-hasn-t-seymour-hersh-s-syria-genocide-denial-ended-his-career-1.6294721|access-date=2021-07-13}}{{cite web|last=Ahmad|first=Muhammad Idrees|title=Syria and the case for editorial accountability – Freedom of the Press|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=2017-07-12|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2017/7/12/syria-and-the-case-for-editorial-accountability|access-date=2021-07-13}} The US and Turkish governments denied the accuracy of Hersh's article.{{cite news|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-us-dismiss-seymour-hersh-report-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=64686&NewsCatID=359|title=Turkey, US dismiss Seymour Hersh report|date=7 April 2014|work=Hürriyet Daily News|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525024905/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-us-dismiss-seymour-hersh-report-.aspx?PageID=238&NID=64686&NewsCatID=359|archive-date=25 May 2015|url-status=live}}

Syrian human rights lawyer Razan Zaitouneh, who was present in Eastern Ghouta, stated, "Hours [after the shelling], we started to visit the medical points in Ghouta to where injured were removed, and we couldn't believe our eyes. I haven't seen such death in my whole life. People were lying on the ground in hallways, on roadsides, in hundreds."{{cite web|last=Goodman|first=Amy|author-link=Amy Goodman|title=Syrian Activist on Ghouta Attack: "I Haven't Seen Such Death in My Whole Life"|publisher=Democracy Now|date=23 August 2013|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2013/8/23/syrian_activist_on_ghouta_attack_i|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825000039/http://www.democracynow.org/2013/8/23/syrian_activist_on_ghouta_attack_i|archive-date=25 August 2013|url-status=live}} Several medics working in Ghouta reported the administration of large quantities of atropine, a common antidote for nerve agent toxicity, to treat victims.{{cite web|title=A Statement from Jobar's Medical Point regarding the Chemical Attack|date=21 August 2013|url=http://freesyriantranslators.net/2013/08/21/a-statement-from-jobars-medical-point-regarding-the-chemical-attack/|access-date=28 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200716/http://freesyriantranslators.net/2013/08/21/a-statement-from-jobars-medical-point-regarding-the-chemical-attack/|archive-date=29 October 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Syria: Witnesses Describe Alleged Chemical Attacks|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/21/syria-witnesses-describe-alleged-chemical-attacks|date=21 August 2013|access-date=28 April 2015|publisher=Human Rights Watch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402230027/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/21/syria-witnesses-describe-alleged-chemical-attacks|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=live}}

Doctors Without Borders said the three hospitals it supports in Eastern Ghouta reported receiving roughly 3,600 patients with "neurotoxic symptoms" over less than three hours during the early morning of 21 August. Of those, 355 died.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/24/doctors-without-borders-syria_n_3809955.html|title=Doctors Without Borders in Syria Confirm 355 Dead, Thousands Treated For 'Neurotoxic Symptoms' After Suspected Chemical Attack|work=HuffPost|agency=Associated Press|access-date=9 May 2015|date=24 August 2013|first1=Bassem|last1=Mroue|first2=Albert|last2=Aji|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518084230/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/24/doctors-without-borders-syria_n_3809955.html|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}} The Local Coordination Committees of Syria claimed that of the 1,338 victims, 1,000 were in Zamalka, of which 600 bodies were transferred to medical points in other towns and 400 remained at a Zamalka medical center. Some of the fatalities were rebel fighters.{{cite web|url=http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/martyrs/1/c29ydGJ5PWEua2lsbGVkX2RhdGV8c29ydGRpcj1ERVNDfGFwcHJvdmVkPXZpc2libGV8ZXh0cmFkaXNwbGF5PTB8c3RhdHVzPTJ8Y29kTXVsdGk9MTV8dGhpc0RhdGU9MjAxMy0wOC0yMXw=|title=Violations Documentation Center in Syria|access-date=9 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132604/http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/martyrs/1/c29ydGJ5PWEua2lsbGVkX2RhdGV8c29ydGRpcj1ERVNDfGFwcHJvdmVkPXZpc2libGV8ZXh0cmFkaXNwbGF5PTB8c3RhdHVzPTJ8Y29kTXVsdGk9MTV8dGhpc0RhdGU9MjAxMy0wOC0yMXw%3D|archive-date=4 March 2016}} The deadliness of the attack is believed to have been increased due to civilians reacting to the chemical attack as if it was typical government bombardment. For conventional artillery and rocket attacks, residents usually went to the basements of buildings, where in this case the heavier-than-air sarin sank into these below-ground, poorly ventilated areas.{{cite news|author=Pomegranate The Middle East|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/08/syria-s-war-0|title=Syria's war: Chemical mystery|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=26 August 2013|date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826013748/http://www.economist.com/blogs/pomegranate/2013/08/syria-s-war-0|archive-date=26 August 2013|url-status=live}} Some of the victims died while sleeping.

Abu Omar of the Free Syrian Army told The Guardian that the rockets involved in the attack were unusual because "you could hear the sound of the rocket in the air but you could not hear any sound of explosion" and no obvious damage to buildings occurred. Human Rights Watch's witnesses reported "symptoms and delivery methods consistent with the use of chemical nerve agents". Activists and local residents contacted by The Guardian said that "the remains of 20 rockets [thought to have been carrying neurotoxic gas] were found in the affected areas. Many [remained] mostly intact, suggesting that they did not detonate on impact and potentially dispersed gas before hitting the ground."{{cite news|first=Martin|last=Chulov|title=Syria crisis: US deploys warship as hospitals report poison gas symptoms|date=24 August 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/24/syria-crisis-us-warship|access-date=25 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824195148/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/24/syria-crisis-us-warship|archive-date=24 August 2013|url-status=live}}

File:Hrw froth.PNG|access-date=9 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410211711/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBDb0fI_pwE|archive-date=10 April 2017|url-status=live}}]]

Doctors Without Borders also reported seeing a "large number of victims arriving with symptoms including convulsions, excessive saliva, pinpoint pupils, blurred vision and respiratory distress".{{cite news|first=Seth|last=Borenstein|url=http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_23949541/411-nerve-agents-like-sarin|title=The 411 on nerve agents like sarin|work=The Denver Post|agency=Associated Press|date=27 August 2013|access-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120715/http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_23949541/411-nerve-agents-like-sarin|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live}} Symptoms reported by Ghouta residents and doctors to Human Rights Watch included "suffocation, muscle spasms and frothing at the mouth".

Witness statements to The Guardian about symptoms included "people who were sleeping in their homes [who] died in their beds", headaches and nausea, "foam coming out of [victims'] mouths and noses", a "smell something like vinegar and rotten eggs", suffocation, "bodies [that] were turning blue", a "smell like cooking gas" and redness and itching of the eyes.{{cite news|first=Mona|last=Mahmood|author2=Martin Chulov|title=Syrian eyewitness accounts of alleged chemical weapons attack in Damascus|date=22 August 2013|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/syria-chemical-weapons-eyewitness|access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822205307/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/syria-chemical-weapons-eyewitness|archive-date=22 August 2013|url-status=live}} Richard Spencer of The Telegraph summarised witness statements, stating, "The poison ... may have killed hundreds, but it has left twitching, fainting, confused but compelling survivors."{{cite news|first=Richard|last=Spencer|author-link=Richard Spencer (journalist)|title=My breath seized up... I lost control of my body|date=22 August 2013|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10260913/My-breath-seized-up...-I-lost-control-of-my-body.html|access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822225752/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10260913/My-breath-seized-up...-I-lost-control-of-my-body.html|archive-date=22 August 2013|url-status=live|location=London}}

On 22 August, the Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria published numerous testimonies. It summarised doctors' and paramedics' descriptions of the symptoms as "vomiting, foamy salivation, severe agitation, [pinpoint] pupils, redness of the eyes, dyspnea, neurological convulsions, respiratory and heart failure, blood out of the nose and mouth and, in some cases, hallucinations and memory loss".{{cite web|title=Special Report on Use of Chemical Weapons in Damascus Suburbs in Eastern Gotas|publisher=Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria|date=22 August 2013|url=https://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports//chemicaldamascussuburbs|access-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828015032/http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports//chemicaldamascussuburbs|archive-date=28 August 2013|url-status=live}}

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a then-senior associate for the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said the reported symptoms are a textbook case of nerve-agent poisoning.

Médecins Sans Frontières director of operations Bart Janssens stated that MSF "can neither scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms nor establish who is responsible for the attack. However, the reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events – characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers – strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent."{{cite web|title=Syria: Thousands suffering neurotoxic symptoms treated in hospitals supported by MSF|publisher=Médecins Sans Frontières|date=24 August 2013|url=http://www.msf.org/article/syria-thousands-suffering-neurotoxic-symptoms-treated-hospitals-supported-msf|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826214418/http://www.msf.org/article/syria-thousands-suffering-neurotoxic-symptoms-treated-hospitals-supported-msf|archive-date=26 August 2013|url-status=dead}}

Gwyn Winfield, editorial director at CBRNe World, analysed some videos from the day of the attack and wrote on the magazine's website: "It is difficult to define [an] agent by the signs and symptoms. Clearly respiratory distress, some nerve spasms and a half-hearted washdown (involving water and bare hands?!), but it could equally be a riot control agent as a [chemical warfare agent]."{{cite web|url=http://www.cbrneworld.com/news/attack_in_ghouta|title=Attack in Ghouta?|first=Gwyn|last=Winfield|date=21 August 2013|access-date=11 May 2015|work=CBRNe World|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331142522/http://www.cbrneworld.com/news/attack_in_ghouta|archive-date=31 March 2017|url-status=dead}}

File:16-tube multiple launch rocket.JPG multiple rocket launcher, of a type that may have launched M-14 munitions found by UN inspectors on 26 August at a site in MoadamiyahJoe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 17 September 2013, [http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/the-story-of-syrias-chemical-artillery-15935885 The Story of Syria's Chemical Artillery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921070112/http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/the-story-of-syrias-chemical-artillery-15935885 |date=21 September 2013 }}]]

Human Rights Watch reported that two types of rockets were used: in Western Ghouta, a 140mm rocket made in the Soviet Union in 1967 and exported to Syria;{{rp|page=5}} and in Eastern Ghouta, a 330mm rocket of unknown origin.{{rp|page=9}} HRW also reported that at the time of the attack, Syrian rebels were not known to be in possession of the rockets used.{{rp|page=20}}{{cite web|author=Julian Borger|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/syria-chemical-attack-assad|title=Syria: chemical attack evidence points to Assad, claims human rights group|work=The Guardian|date=10 September 2013|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911032004/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/10/syria-chemical-attack-assad|archive-date=11 September 2013|url-status=live}}

Seymour Hersh has suggested that the 330mm rockets may have been produced locally, and with a limited range.{{cite journal|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/12/08/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin|title=Whose sarin?|date=19 December 2013|access-date=29 April 2015|first=Seymour M.|last=Hersh|author-link=Seymour Hersh|journal=London Review of Books|volume=35|issue=24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209194107/http://www.lrb.co.uk/2013/12/08/seymour-m-hersh/whose-sarin|archive-date=9 December 2013|url-status=live}} Eliot Higgins has looked at the munitions linked to the attack and analysed footage of the putative launchers inside government territory.{{cite news|first=Eliot|last=Higgins|author-link=Eliot Higgins|title=Sy Hersh's Chemical Misfire|work=Foreign Policy|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/12/09/sy_hershs_chemical_misfire|date=9 December 2013|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111161612/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/12/09/sy_hershs_chemical_misfire|archive-date=11 November 2014|url-status=live}}

According to analysis conducted in January 2014 by Theodore Postol and Richard Lloyd, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the rockets used in the attack had a range of about two kilometers, which, the authors claimed, meant that the munitions could not have been fired from the 'heart' or from the Eastern edge of the Syrian Government Controlled Area shown in the Intelligence Map published by the White House on 30 August 2013.{{cite news|url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/15/214656/new-analysis-of-rocket-used-in.html|title=New analysis of rocket used in Syria chemical attack undercuts U.S. claims|work=McClatchy DC|date=15 January 2014|first=Matthew|last=Schofield|access-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616201421/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/01/15/214656/new-analysis-of-rocket-used-in.html|archive-date=16 June 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/world/middleeast/new-study-refines-view-of-sarin-attack-in-syria.html|work=The New York Times|date=28 December 2013|title=New Study Refines View of Sarin Attack in Syria|first=C. J.|last=Chivers|author-link=C. J. Chivers|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428001040/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/world/middleeast/new-study-refines-view-of-sarin-attack-in-syria.html|archive-date=28 April 2015|url-status=live}} A response from Higgins and Kaszeta included an observation that the Russian-language news site ANNA News had posted videos showing a Syrian government military operation running from June to August 2013 to clear positions between Jobar and Qaboun, a strip of land about 2 km away from 21 August impact sites.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/22/allegation-false-turkey-chemical-attack-syria|title=It's clear that Turkey was not involved in the chemical attack on Syria|date=22 April 2014|first1=Eliot|last1=Higgins|author1-link=Eliot Higgins|first2=Dan|last2=Kaszeta|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502080336/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/22/allegation-false-turkey-chemical-attack-syria|archive-date=2 May 2017|url-status=live}}

Many of the munitions and their fragments had been moved; however, in two cases, the UN could identify the likely launch azimuths.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24130181|title=Syria chemical attack: Key UN findings|publisher=BBC|date=17 September 2013|access-date=20 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180419093413/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24130181|archive-date=19 April 2018|url-status=live}} Triangulating rocket trajectories suggests that the origin of the attack may have been within government or rebel-held territory. Consideration of missile ranges influences calculations as to whether rockets originated from the government or rebel-held regions.{{cite news|last=Lyons|first=Josh|title=Dispatches: Mapping the Sarin Flight Path|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/17/dispatches-mapping-sarin-flight-path|access-date=1 May 2015|publisher=Human Rights Watch|date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503122616/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/17/dispatches-mapping-sarin-flight-path|archive-date=3 May 2015|url-status=live}}

Two purported intercepts of communications that appeared to implicate the Syrian government received prominent media coverage. One was a phone call allegedly between Syrian officials which Israel's Unit 8200 was said to have intercepted and passed to the US.{{cite news|first=Harriet|last=Sherwood|work=The Guardian|date=28 August 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/israeli-intelligence-intercepted-syria-chemical-talk|title=Israeli intelligence 'intercepted Syrian regime talk about chemical attack'|access-date=1 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508090231/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/28/israeli-intelligence-intercepted-syria-chemical-talk|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live}} The other was a phone call which the German Bundesnachrichtendienst said it had intercepted, between a high-ranking representative of Hezbollah and the Iranian embassy, in which the purported Hezbollah official said that poison gas had been used and that Assad's order to attack with chemical weapons had been a "big mistake".{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10284773/Syria-crisis-chemical-weapons-use-a-big-mistake-Hizbollah-told-Iran.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=Syria crisis: 'chemical weapons use a big mistake, Hizbollah told Iran'|date=3 September 2013|access-date=8 September 2013|location=London|first=Jeevan|last=Vasagar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906070426/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10284773/Syria-crisis-chemical-weapons-use-a-big-mistake-Hizbollah-told-Iran.html|archive-date=6 September 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/syrien-bnd-faengt-beleg-fuer-giftgaseinsatz-durch-assad-regime-ab-a-919965.html|work=Der Spiegel|title=BND fängt Beleg für Giftgaseinsatz durch Assad-Regime ab|date=2 September 2013|access-date=8 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905094435/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/syrien-bnd-faengt-beleg-fuer-giftgaseinsatz-durch-assad-regime-ab-a-919965.html|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}}

On 29 August the Associated Press reported that, according to two U.S. intelligence officials and two other U.S. officials, the U.S. intercept was a conversation between "low-level" Syrian officials with no direct link to the upper echelons of the government or military.{{cite news|first1=Kimberly|last1=Dozier|first2=Matt|last2=Apuzzo|agency=Associated Press|date=29 August 2013|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-sources-intelligence-weapons-no-slam-dunk|title=AP sources: Intelligence on weapons no 'slam dunk'|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504180010/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-sources-intelligence-weapons-no-slam-dunk|archive-date=4 May 2015|url-status=live}}

The Bild am Sonntag newspaper subsequently reported that German intelligence indicated that Assad had likely not ordered the attacks. According to Bild, "intelligence interception specialists" relying on communications intercepted by the German vessel Oker said that Syrian military commanders had repeatedly been asking permission to launch chemical attacks for around four months, with permission always being denied from the presidential palace. The sources concluded that 21 August attack had probably not been approved by Bashar al-Assad.{{cite news|author1=Simon Tisdall|author2=Josie Le Blond|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/syria-chemical-weapons-not-assad-bild|title=Syria chemical weapons attack not ordered by Assad, says German press|newspaper=The Guardian|date=8 September 2013|access-date=9 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909053633/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/08/syria-chemical-weapons-not-assad-bild|archive-date=9 September 2013|url-status=live}}Martin S. Lambeck, Kayhan Özgenc and Burkhard Uhlenbroich, Bild am Sonntag, 8 September 2013, [http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/syrien-krise/assad-kommandeure-wollten-giftgas-einsetzen-32300094.bild.html Assad-Kommandeure wollten seit Monaten Giftgas einsetzen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909135114/http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/syrien-krise/assad-kommandeure-wollten-giftgas-einsetzen-32300094.bild.html |date=9 September 2013 }}{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/09/c_125345938.htm|title=Assad may not be responsible for Syria chemical attack: German paper|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=9 September 2013|access-date=9 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913045548/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-09/09/c_125345938.htm|archive-date=13 September 2013|url-status=dead}}

Murad Abu Bilal, Khaled Naddaf and other Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria and Local Coordination Committees of Syria (LCC) media staff went to Zamalka soon after the attacks to film and obtain other documentary evidence. Almost all the journalists died from inhalation of the neurotoxins, except Murad Abu Bilal, who was the only Zamalka LCC media member to survive.{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: America tells the world 'We have the evidence – now we HAVE to punish Assad'|date=30 August 2013|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/a-crime-against-humanity-us-makes-the-case-for-military-action-against-syria-8792337.html|access-date=31 August 2013|location=London|first=David|last=Usborne}}{{cite web|title=The Weekly Report on Dignity Revolution's Martyrs|publisher=Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria|date=28 August 2013|url=https://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports/chemicalmassacrefollowup|access-date=1 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925045409/http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports/chemicalmassacrefollowup|archive-date=25 September 2013|url-status=live}} The videos were published on YouTube, attracting worldwide media attention.

Experts who have analysed the first video said it shows the strongest evidence yet consistent with the use of a lethal toxic agent. Visible symptoms reportedly included rolling eyes, foaming at the mouth, and tremors. There was at least one image of a child suffering miosis, the pin-point pupil effect associated with the nerve agent Sarin, a powerful neurotoxin reportedly used before in Syria. Ralph Trapp, a former scientist at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said the footage showed what a chemical weapons attack on a civilian area would look like, and went on to note "This is one of the first videos I've seen from Syria where the numbers start to make sense. If you have a gas attack you would expect large numbers of people, children and adults, to be affected, particularly if it's in a built-up area."{{cite web|first1=Peter|last1=Beaumont|first2=Ian|last2=Sample|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/syria-chemicals-weapons-experts-lethal-toxin|title=Chemical weapons experts say strike near Damascus fits with lethal toxin use|work=The Guardian|date=21 August 2013|access-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716184932/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/21/syria-chemicals-weapons-experts-lethal-toxin|archive-date=16 July 2015|url-status=live}}

Some experts, among them Jean Pascal Zanders, initially stated that evidence that sarin was used, as claimed by pro-rebel sources, was still lacking and highlighted the lack of second-hand contaminations typically associated with use of weapons-grade nerve agents: "I remain sceptical that it was a nerve agent like sarin. I would have expected to see more convulsions", he said. "The other thing that seems inconsistent with sarin is that, given the footage of first responders treating victims without proper protective equipment, you would expect to see considerable secondary casualties from contamination – which does not appear to be evident." However, after Zanders saw footage imminently after the attack, he changed his mind, saying: "The video footage and pictures this time are of a far better quality. You can clearly see the typical signs of asphyxiation, including a pinkish blueish tinge to the skin colour. There is one image of an adult woman where you can see the tell-tale blackish mark around her mouth, all of which suggests death from asphyxiation." Zanders however cautioned that these symptoms covered a range of neurotoxicants, including some available for civilian use as pest control agents, and said that until the UN reported its analysis of samples, "I can't make a judgement. I have to keep an open mind."Huffington Post, 30 August 2013, [http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/30/syria-sarin-claims_n_3843049.html?1377876797 Syria: Chemical Weapons Expert Jean Pascal Zanders Says Gas Might Not Be Sarin, Urges Caution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904162500/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/08/30/syria-sarin-claims_n_3843049.html?1377876797 |date=4 September 2013 }}

According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, "videos uploaded to YouTube by activists showed rows of motionless bodies and medics attending to patients apparently in the grip of seizures. In one piece of footage, a young boy appeared to be foaming at the mouth while convulsing."{{cite news|last=Strange|first=Hannah|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10256236/Syrian-opposition-claims-1300-killed-in-chemical-attack.html|title=Syrian opposition claims 1,300 killed in chemical attack|work=The Telegraph|date=21 August 2013|access-date=24 August 2013|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824004356/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10256236/Syrian-opposition-claims-1300-killed-in-chemical-attack.html|archive-date=24 August 2013|url-status=live}}

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of British Chemical and Biological counterterrorism forces,{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryspeakers.co.uk/speakers/hamish-de-bretton-gordon-obe.aspx|title=Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE – Military Speakers|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018074727/http://www.militaryspeakers.co.uk/speakers/hamish-de-bretton-gordon-obe.aspx|archive-date=18 October 2014|url-status=live}} told BBC that the images were very similar to previous incidents he had witnessed, although he could not verify the footage.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23782125|title=Syria video 'consistent with chemical attack'|publisher=BBC News|date=21 August 2013|access-date=22 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821141941/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23782125|archive-date=21 August 2013|url-status=live}}

According to public statements, intelligence agencies in Israel, the United Kingdom,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/uk-intelligence-syrian-regime-chemical-weapons|work=The Guardian|title=Syria: UK intelligence blames Assad regime for chemical attacks|date=29 August 2013|access-date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830093834/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/uk-intelligence-syrian-regime-chemical-weapons|archive-date=30 August 2013|url-status=live}} the United States, France,{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-france-chemical-idUSBRE9810GQ20130902|agency=Reuters|title=French intelligence: Syria's Assad behind chemical attack|date=2 September 2013|access-date=2 September 2013|first=John|last=Irish|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905072007/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/02/us-syria-crisis-france-chemical-idUSBRE9810GQ20130902|archive-date=5 September 2013|url-status=live}} Turkey,{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/turkey-says-intelligence-analysis-shows-syrian-government-behind-chemical-attack/|publisher=Fox News|date=30 August 2013|access-date=2 September 2013|title=Turkey says intelligence analysis shows Syrian government behind chemical attack|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901224538/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/30/turkey-says-intelligence-analysis-shows-syrian-government-behind-chemical/|archive-date=1 September 2013|url-status=live}} and Germany{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/syrien-bnd-faengt-beleg-fuer-giftgaseinsatz-durch-assad-regime-ab-a-919965.html|work=Der Spiegel|language=de|title=Syrien-Krise: BND fängt Beleg für Giftgaseinsatz durch Assad-Regime ab|date=2 September 2013|access-date=2 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902213321/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/syrien-bnd-faengt-beleg-fuer-giftgaseinsatz-durch-assad-regime-ab-a-919965.html|archive-date=2 September 2013|url-status=live}} concluded that the Syrian government was most likely responsible for the attacks. Western intelligence agencies agreed that video evidence is consistent with the use of a nerve agent, such as sarin. Laboratory tests showed traces of sarin, in blood and hair samples collected from emergency workers who responded to the attacks.{{cite news|last1=Cameron|first1=Darla|first2=Anup|last2=Kaphle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/syria-intelligence/|title=How the intelligence on Syria stacks up|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=5 September 2013|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033430/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/syria-intelligence/|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}}

Russia said there was no evidence tying the Syrian government to the attack and that it was likely carried out by an opposition group.{{cite news|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-17-russia-france-at-loggerheads-over-syria-finding|title=Russia, France at loggerheads over Syria report|work=Mail & Guardian|date=17 September 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920043050/http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-17-russia-france-at-loggerheads-over-syria-finding|archive-date=20 September 2013|url-status=live}}

On 2 September, the French government published a nine-page intelligence report blaming the Syrian government for the Ghouta attacks.{{cite web|first=Kim|last=Willsher|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/syria-crisis-french-intelligence-assad|title=Syria crisis: French intelligence dossier blames Assad for chemical attack|work=The Guardian|date=2 September 2013|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222021241/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/syria-crisis-french-intelligence-assad|archive-date=22 December 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.elysee.fr/assets/pdf/SyrieSynthese-nationale-de-renseignement-declassifie02-09-2013.pdf|title=Programme chimique syrien|trans-title=Syrian chemical program|language=fr|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923235951/http://www.elysee.fr/assets/pdf/SyrieSynthese-nationale-de-renseignement-declassifie02-09-2013.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}} An unnamed French government official said that the analysis was carried out by the Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) and Direction du renseignement militaire (DRM) based on satellite and video images, on-the-ground sources, and samples collected from two April attacks.{{cite news|publisher=Fox News|date=4 September 2013|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/france-releases-intelligence-report-alleging-syrian-chemical-weapons-use-while-assad-warns-against-strike/|title=France releases intelligence report alleging Syrian chemical weapons use, while Assad warns against strike|agency=Associated Press|access-date=10 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910013856/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/09/04/french-lawmakers-debate-their-own-military-action-in-syria/|archive-date=10 September 2013|url-status=live}} The report said analysis of samples collected from attacks in Saraqeb and Jobar in April 2013 had confirmed the use of sarin.

The Guardian reported that French intelligence had images that showed rocket attacks on opposition neighborhoods from government-controlled areas to the east and west of Damascus. The report said that the government later launched conventional bombing of those neighborhoods in order to destroy evidence of a chemical attack.{{cite news|first1=Patrick|last1=Wintour|author1-link=Patrick Wintour|first2=Kim|last2=Willsher|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/vladimir-putin-syria|title=Syria crisis: Vladimir Putin under growing pressure|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 September 2013|access-date=8 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716141122/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/02/vladimir-putin-syria|archive-date=16 July 2015|url-status=live}} Based on analysis of 47 videos, the report said at least 281 fatalities occurred. Using other sources and extrapolation a chemical attack model estimated the total number of death at approximately 1,500.

The Bundesnachrichtendienst said it intercepted a phone call between a Hezbollah official and the Iranian Embassy in which the Hezbollah representative criticised Assad's decision to attack with poison gas, apparently confirming its use by the Syrian government. German newspaper Der Spiegel reported on 3 September that BND President Gerhard Schindler told them that based on the agency's evidence, Germany now shared the United Kingdom, United States, and France's view that the attacks were carried out by the Syrian government. However, they also said the attack may have been much more potent than intended, speculating that there may have been an error in mixing the chemical weapons used.Matthias Gebauer, Der Spiegel, 3 September 2013, [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/german-intelligence-contributes-to-fact-finding-on-syria-gas-attack-a-920123.html Gas Attack: Germany Offers Clue in Search for Truth in Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130911025641/http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/german-intelligence-contributes-to-fact-finding-on-syria-gas-attack-a-920123.html |date=11 September 2013 }}{{cite news|last=Black|first=Ian|title=German intelligence: Syria chemical attack may have been an overdose|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/on-the-middle-east/2013/sep/04/syria-assad-obama-germany|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 September 2013|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221070056/https://www.theguardian.com/world/on-the-middle-east/2013/sep/04/syria-assad-obama-germany|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}

Without going into detail, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on 22 August 2013 that Israel's intelligence assessment was that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in the Damascus area.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.542975|work=Haaretz|date=22 August 2013|access-date=7 May 2015|title=Israeli intelligence backs reports of latest chemical weapons attack in Syria|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503114359/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.542975|archive-date=3 May 2015|url-status=live}} Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said the Syrian government had already used chemical weapons against the rebels on a smaller scale multiple times prior to the Ghouta attacks.{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.542849|work=Haaretz|title=Defense Minister: Assad used chemical weapons multiple times in Syria|date=22 August 2013|access-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061400/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.542849|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} Fox News reported that Unit 8200 helped provide intelligence to the United States, Israel's closest international ally, implicating the Syrian government in the attacks.{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/28/israeli-intelligence-first-confirmed-assad-regime-behind-alleged-chemical/|title=Israeli intelligence first confirmed Assad regime behind alleged chemical attack|publisher=Fox News|date=28 August 2013|access-date=21 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912180707/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/28/israeli-intelligence-first-confirmed-assad-regime-behind-alleged-chemical/|archive-date=12 September 2013|url-status=dead}} Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the General debate of the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly that Syrian government used the chemical weapons against its own people.{{cite web|url=https://gadebate.un.org/|title=General Assembly OF THE UNITED NATIONS | General Debate of the 68th Session|publisher=United Nations|access-date=13 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927110609/http://gadebate.un.org/|archive-date=27 September 2012}}

Russian officials said that there was no proof that the government of Syria had a hand in the chemical attacks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the American, British and French intelligence reports as "unconvincing"{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10280017/US-intelligence-on-Syria-gas-attack-unconvincing-says-Russia.html|work=The Daily Telegraph|title=US intelligence on Syria gas attack 'unconvincing', says Russia|date=2 September 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|location=London|first=Roland|last=Oliphant|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921141549/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10280017/US-intelligence-on-Syria-gas-attack-unconvincing-says-Russia.html|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} and said at a joint news conference with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius after the release of the United Nations report in mid-September that he continued to believe the rebels carried out the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he wanted to see evidence that would make it "obvious" who used chemical weapons in Ghouta.{{cite web|first=Josh|last=Levs|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/04/world/syria-us-evidence-chemical-weapons-attack/index.html|title=What's the evidence of Syrian chemical weapons attack?|date=4 September 2013|publisher=CNN|access-date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628184318/http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/04/world/syria-us-evidence-chemical-weapons-attack/index.html|archive-date=28 June 2015|url-status=live}}

In a commentary published in The New York Times on 11 September 2013, Putin wrote that "there is every reason to believe [poison gas] was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons". Lavrov said on 18 September that "new evidence" given to Russia by the Syrian government would be forthcoming.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/18/russia-syrian-rebels-chemical-weapons|work=The Guardian|title=Russia to provide evidence 'implicating Syrian rebels in chemical attacks'|date=18 September 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919170557/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/18/russia-syrian-rebels-chemical-weapons|archive-date=19 September 2013|url-status=live}}

The Turkish government-run Anadolu Agency published an unconfirmed report on 30 August 2013, pointing to the Syrian 155th Missile Brigade and the 4th Armored Division as the perpetrators of the two attacks. It said the attack had involved 15 to 20 missiles with chemical warheads at around 02:45 on 21 August, targeting residential areas between Douma and Zamalka in Eastern Ghouta. It claimed that the 155th Missile Brigade had used 9K52 Luna-M missiles, M600 missiles, or both, fired from Kufeyte, while other rockets with a 15- to 70-kilometer range were fired by the 4th Armored Division from Mount Qasioun. The agency did not explain its source.{{cite news|work=Hürriyet Daily News|date=30 August 2013|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-state-agency-obtains-detailed-information-about-chemical-attacks-in-syria-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53556&NewsCatID=352|title=Turkey's state agency obtains detailed information about chemical attacks in Syria|access-date=6 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901034858/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-state-agency-obtains-detailed-information-about-chemical-attacks-in-syria-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=53556&NewsCatID=352|archive-date=1 September 2013|url-status=live}}

A report on the attacks by the United Kingdom's Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) was published on 29 August 2013 prior to a vote on intervention by the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The report said at least 350 people were killed and that it was "highly likely" that the attacks had been carried out by the Syrian government, resting in part on the firm view that the Syrian opposition was not capable of carrying out a chemical weapons attack on this scale, and on the JIC view that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war on a small scale on 14 previous occasions. Analysis of the Ghouta attacks themselves was based largely on reviewing video footage and publicly available witness evidence. The report conceded problems with motivation for the attacks, saying there was "no obvious political or military trigger for regime use of CW on an apparently larger scale now".{{cite news|work=The Guardian|date=29 August 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/uk-report-chemical-attack-syria|title=UK report on chemical attack in Syria adds nothing to informed speculation|first1=Ian|last1=Black|first2=Ian|last2=Sample|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408125736/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/29/uk-report-chemical-attack-syria|archive-date=8 April 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|work=The Independent|location=London|date=30 August 2013|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/beyond-reasonable-doubt-evidence-on-syrian-chemical-atrocity-fails-to-make-a-case-for-war-8790589.html|title=Beyond reasonable doubt? Evidence on Syrian chemical atrocity fails to make a case for war|first=Kim|last=Sengupta|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120954/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/beyond-reasonable-doubt-evidence-on-syrian-chemical-atrocity-fails-to-make-a-case-for-war-8790589.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|date=29 August 2013|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23883617|title=UK intelligence assessment on Syria under analysis|first=Gordon|last=Corera|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219062012/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23883617|archive-date=19 February 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|publisher=UK Cabinet Office|date=29 August 2013|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/syria-reported-chemical-weapons-use-joint-intelligence-committee-letter|title=Syria: reported chemical weapons use – Joint Intelligence Committee letter|access-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194842/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/syria-reported-chemical-weapons-use-joint-intelligence-committee-letter|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}} British officials said they believe the Syrian military used chemical weapons, including the nerve agent sarin, on a small scale against the opposition on at least 14 times prior to the Ghouta attacks and described "a clear pattern of regime use" of the nerve agent since 2012.{{cite news|title=Allies' Intelligence Differs on Details, but Still Points to Assad Forces|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/world/middleeast/allies-intelligence-on-syria-all-points-to-assad-forces.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 September 2013|first1=David E.|last1=Sanger|author1-link=David E. Sanger|first2=Eric|last2=Schmitt|author2-link=Eric P. Schmitt|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718233145/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/world/middleeast/allies-intelligence-on-syria-all-points-to-assad-forces.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|archive-date=18 July 2017|url-status=live}}

A vote in the House of Commons to approve UK participation in military action against Syria was narrowly rejected, with some MPs arguing that the case for Syrian government culpability was not sufficiently strong to justify approving action.The Guardian, 30 August 2013, [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/30/cameron-mps-syria Blow to Cameron's authority as MPs rule out British assault on Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215184732/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/30/cameron-mps-syria |date=15 December 2016 }}{{cite web|title=House of Commons debate on Syria|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2013/august/commons-debate-on-syria/|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=5 December 2015|date=30 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208134718/http://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2013/august/commons-debate-on-syria/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}} Prime Minister David Cameron himself had been forced to concede that "in the end there is no 100 percent certainty about who is responsible".Associated Press, 29 August 2013, [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/internal-political-divisions-slow-uks-syria-push UK Prime Minister Cameron loses Syria war vote] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907070243/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/internal-political-divisions-slow-uks-syria-push |date=7 September 2013 }},{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21585026-david-cameron-needs-relearn-leadership-grounded-now|title=Grounded for now|work=FP|date=7 September 2013|access-date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916114854/http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21585026-david-cameron-needs-relearn-leadership-grounded-now|archive-date=16 September 2013|url-status=live}}

{{main|U.S. Government Assessment of the Syrian Government's Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21, 2013}}

File:Syria - Damascus Areas of Influence and Areas Reportedly Affected by 21 August Chemical Attack.jpg A controversial "US government assessment of the Ghouta attacks" was published by the White House on 30 August 2013, with a longer classified version made available to members of Congress. The report blamed the chemical attacks on the Syrian government, saying rockets containing a nerve agent were fired from government-held territory into neighborhoods in the early morning, impacting at least 12 locations. It stated 1,429 people were killed, including at least 426 children. It dismissed the possibility that evidence supporting the US government's conclusion could have been manufactured by the opposition, stating it "does not have the capability" to fabricate videos, eyewitness accounts, and other information. The report also said that the US believed Syrian officials directed the attacks, based on "intercepted communications". A major element, as reported by news media, was an intercepted telephone call between a Syrian Ministry of Defense official and a Syrian 155th Brigade chemical weapons unit commander in which the former demanded answers for the attacks.{{cite news|url=http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/27/exclusive_us_spies_say_intercepted_calls_prove_syrias_army_used_nerve_gas|work=Foreign Policy|title=Exclusive: Intercepted Calls Prove Syrian Army Used Nerve Gas, U.S. Spies Say|date=27 August 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061400/http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/08/27/exclusive_us_spies_say_intercepted_calls_prove_syrias_army_used_nerve_gas|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}} According to some reports, this phone intercept was provided to the U.S. by Israeli Intelligence Corps Unit 8200.

The U.S. government assessment suggested a motive for the attack, describing it as "a desperate effort to push back rebels from several areas in the capital's densely packed eastern suburbs". The report then states that evidence suggests "the high civilian death toll surprised and panicked senior Syrian officials, who called off the attack and then tried to cover it up".{{cite news|author=Joby Warrick|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nearly-1500-killed-in-syrian-chemical-weapons-attack-us-says/2013/08/30/b2864662-1196-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html|title=More than 1,400 killed in Syrian chemical weapons attack, U.S. says|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=4 September 2013|date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718233130/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nearly-1500-killed-in-syrian-chemical-weapons-attack-us-says/2013/08/30/b2864662-1196-11e3-85b6-d27422650fd5_story.html|archive-date=18 July 2017|url-status=live}} Secretary of State John Kerry later announced that hair, blood, soil, and cloth samples collected from the attack sites had tested positive for sarin or its immediate breakdown products.{{cite news|last=Sample|first=Ian|title=Syrian chemical weapons: how lab tests uncover evidence of sarin gas|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/syrian-chemical-weapons-tests-sarin|newspaper=The Guardian|date=5 September 2013|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221070158/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/syrian-chemical-weapons-tests-sarin|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}

At least three members of Congress, expressed skepticism about the US intelligence report, calling the evidence circumstantial and thin.{{cite news|author-link=Daniel Halper|first=Daniel|last=Halper|date=1 September 2013|work=The Weekly Standard|url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harkin-classified-syria-briefing-frankly-raised-more-questions-it-answered_751549.html|title=Harkin on Classified Syria Briefing: 'Frankly Raised More Questions Than It Answered'|access-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630234344/http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/harkin-classified-syria-briefing-frankly-raised-more-questions-it-answered_751549.html|archive-date=30 June 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Swanson|work=The Hill|date=2 September 2013|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/160617-texas-republican-evidence-that-assad-used-chemical-weapons-is-thin/|title=Texas Republican: Evidence that Assad used chemical weapons is 'thin'|access-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707194537/http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/319879-texas-republican-evidence-that-assad-used-chemical-weapons-is-thin|archive-date=7 July 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Steven|last=Nelson|work=U.S. News & World Report|date=5 September 2013|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/09/05/alan-grayson-syria-intelligence-manipulated|title=Rep. Alan Grayson: Syria Intelligence Manipulated|access-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712095626/http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/09/05/alan-grayson-syria-intelligence-manipulated|archive-date=12 July 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Alan|last=Grayson|author-link=Alan Grayson|work=The New York Times|date=6 September 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/opinion/on-syria-vote-trust-but-verify.html|title=On Syria Vote, Trust, but Verify|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504213244/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/opinion/on-syria-vote-trust-but-verify.html|archive-date=4 May 2015|url-status=live}} Obama's request that Congress authorize military force was not put to a vote of either the House of Representatives or the Senate, and the president ultimately admitted that "I wouldn't say I'm confident" that he could convince Congress to support strikes against Syria.{{cite news|url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/09/20407499-obama-on-the-fence-about-syria-strike-without-congress-approval?lite|publisher=NBC News|date=9 September 2013|access-date=20 September 2013|title=Obama on the fence about Syria strike without Congress' approval|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921053900/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/09/20407499-obama-on-the-fence-about-syria-strike-without-congress-approval?lite|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}

Democratic Party Representative Alan Grayson offered some details regarding the classified report, which he described as 12 pages long, and criticized both the four-page public summary and the classified report. Grayson said the unclassified summary relied on "intercepted telephone calls, 'social media' postings and the like, but not one of these is actually quoted or attached … (As to whether the classified summary is the same, I couldn't possibly comment, but again, draw your own conclusion.)" Grayson cited as a problematic example the intercepted phone call between a Syrian Ministry of Defense official and the Syrian 155th Brigade, the transcript of which was not provided in the classified report, leaving Grayson unable to judge the accuracy of a report in The Daily Caller that the call's implications had been misrepresented in the report.

The AP quoted anonymous US intelligence officials as saying that the evidence presented in the report linking Assad to the attack was "not a slam dunk". Jeffrey Goldberg also reported that James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence, personally told President Obama that the case for the Syrian government's responsibility was strong but not a "slam dunk".{{cite news|title=The Obama Doctrine|first=Jeffrey|last=Goldberg|work=Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/|date=April 2016|access-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918034100/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/|archive-date=18 September 2018|url-status=live}} The AP later characterized the evidence released by the administration as circumstantial and said the government had denied its requests for more direct evidence, including satellite imagery and communications intercepts cited in the government assessment.{{cite news|first1=Zeina|last1=Karam|author1-link=Zeina Karam|first2=Kimberly|last2=Dozier|agency=Associated Press|work=The Times of Israel|date=8 September 2013|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/doubts-linger-over-syria-gas-attack-evidence/|title=Doubts linger over Syria gas attack evidence|access-date=25 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822183039/http://www.timesofisrael.com/doubts-linger-over-syria-gas-attack-evidence/|archive-date=22 August 2016|url-status=live}}

IPS news analyst Gareth Porter questioned why the report was released by the White House as a "government assessment" as opposed being released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as an "intelligence community assessment". Porter quoted former intelligence officials who said the report was "evidently an administration document" and who also suggested evidence was "cherry-picked" to support the conclusion that the Syrian government carried out the attacks.{{cite web|first=Gareth|last=Porter|author-link=Gareth Porter|date=9 September 2013|work=Inter Press Service|url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/obamas-case-for-syria-didnt-reflect-intel-consensus/|title=/CORRECTED REPEAT/Obama's Case for Syria Didn't Reflect Intel Consensus|access-date=6 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318225804/http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/obamas-case-for-syria-didnt-reflect-intel-consensus/|archive-date=18 March 2015|url-status=live}}

On 8 September 2013, the then White House Chief-of-Staff, Denis McDonough said the administration lacks the "irrefutable, beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence", but that a "common-sense test" implicates Assad.{{cite news|url=http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/obama_aid_says_us_lacks_irrefu.html|title=Obama aide says U.S. lacks 'irrefutable' evidence Syria's Assad used chemical weapons|work=PennLive|agency=Associated Press|date=8 September 2013|access-date=20 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009201733/http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/obama_aid_says_us_lacks_irrefu.html|archive-date=9 October 2017|url-status=live}}

At the time of the attack, Syria was not a member of the Chemical Weapons Convention. However, Human Rights Watch argues that the Ghouta chemical attack was illegal under a different international agreement:

Syria is a party to the 1925 Geneva Gas protocol, which bans the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and of all analogous liquids, materials or devices. The use of chemical weapons is also prohibited as a matter of customary international humanitarian law, or the laws of war. The prohibition on the use of chemical weapons applies to all armed conflicts, including so-called non-international armed conflicts such as the current fighting in Syria. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in the Tadic case, stated "there undisputedly emerged a general consensus in the international community on the principle that the use of [chemical] weapons is also prohibited in internal armed conflicts.{{rp|page=21}}

However, Ian Hurd, associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, stated:{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2013/8/27/saving-syria-international-law-is-not-the-answer|title=Saving Syria: International law is not the answer|author=Ian Hurd|date=27 August 2013|publisher=Al Jazeera}}

But the problem is that, legally, the Gas Protocol regulates only wars between states, not civil wars. It does not govern how a government behaves inside its own territory.

In other words, under its current obligations Syria is forbidden from using gas against its neighbours but not against its own people.

Human Rights Watch stated that the UN Security Council should refer the Syria situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) "to ensure accountability for all war crimes and crimes against humanity". Amnesty International also said that the Syria situation should be referred to the ICC because "the best way for the United States to signal its abhorrence for war crimes and crimes against humanity and to promote justice in Syria, would be to reaffirm its support for the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court".{{cite web|title=Military Strikes in Syria Cannot Bring Justice|publisher=Amnesty International|date=31 August 2013|url=http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/military-strikes-in-syria-cannot-bring-justice|access-date=31 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317165156/http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/press-releases/military-strikes-in-syria-cannot-bring-justice|archive-date=17 March 2015|url-status=live}} However, as the amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court explicitly making it a war crime to use chemical weapons in an internal conflict has not been ratified by most states nor Syria, the legal situation is complex and reliant on the attack being a part of a wider war crime.{{cite web|url=http://www.ejiltalk.org/can-the-icc-prosecute-for-use-of-chemical-weapons-in-syria/|title=Can the ICC Prosecute for Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria?|author=Dapo Akande|publisher=European Journal of International Law|date=23 August 2013|access-date=8 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909031735/http://www.ejiltalk.org/can-the-icc-prosecute-for-use-of-chemical-weapons-in-syria/|archive-date=9 September 2013|url-status=live}} China and Russia have repeatedly used their status as members of the U.N. Security Council to block any attempt to bring Syria under the jurisdiction of the ICC;{{Cite web|date=2014-05-22|title=Russia, China veto UN move to refer Syria to ICC|url=https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-russia-bashar-assad-china-war-crimes-023af44c33bf4243a2d24e069e563366|access-date=2021-07-10|agency=Associated Press}}{{Cite web|last=Swart|first=Mia|title=National courts lead the way in prosecuting Syrian war crimes|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/15/national-courts-lead-the-way-in-prosecuting-syrian-war-crimes|access-date=2021-07-10|publisher=Al Jazeera}}{{Cite news|last=Simons|first=Marlise|author-link=Marlise Simons|date=2021-03-02|title=Criminal Inquiries Loom Over al-Assad's Use of Chemical Arms in Syria|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/europe/syria-chemical-weapons-assad.html|access-date=2021-07-10}}{{Cite news|last=Irish|first=John|date=2021-03-02|title=Syrian victims of chemical attacks file case with French prosecutors|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/syria-security-france-int-idUSKBN2AU0VL|access-date=2021-07-10}} by 2017, Russia had used its veto power at least seven times to prevent the U.N. Security Council from taking action.{{Cite web|agency=Reuters in New York|date=2017-03-01|title=Russia and China veto UN resolution to impose sanctions on Syria|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/01/russia-and-china-veto-un-resolution-to-impose-sanctions-on-syria|access-date=2021-07-10|website=The Guardian}}

After Russia and China blocked attempts to set up an international tribunal for Syria, survivors of the attack and human rights organizations have taken legal action in France, Germany, and Sweden. In October 2020, three human rights organizations submitted, on behalf of the victims of the attack, a criminal complaint and a dossier of evidence to Germany's federal public prosecutor in Karlsruhe;{{Cite news|last=Nasr|first=Joseph|date=2020-10-06|title=Syrian victims of chemical attacks file case with German prosecutors|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-syria-germany-chemicalweapons-idUSKBN26R10I|access-date=2021-07-11}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-06|title=Criminal complaint submitted to German court over sarin gas attacks in Syria|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/06/criminal-complaint-submitted-to-german-court-over-sarin-gas-attacks-in-syria|access-date=2021-07-10|website=The Guardian}}{{Cite web|title=Syria chemical attacks: Germany says received suit names al-Assad|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/7/syria-leader-named-in-criminal-complaint-against-chemical-attacks|access-date=2021-07-11|publisher=Al Jazeera}} the dossier includes testimony from at least 17 survivors of the attack and 50 defectors from the Syrian government with knowledge of the government's chemical weapons program or plans to carry out chemical attacks in Ghouta and Khan Shaykhun. In February 2021, lawyers representing victims of the attack and two international human rights groups filed with judges at a special war crimes unit in France's palace of justice a complaint regarding the Syrian government's use of chemical weapons.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-20|title=Groups ask France to probe 2013 Syria chemical attacks|url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-france-damascus-germany-war-crimes-c8964445b445365e053fe9691fe8d621|access-date=2021-07-10|agency=Associated Press}} The complaints were accepted in Sweden, Germany and France{{Cite web|date=2021-04-20|title=Eight Years After Chemical Weapons Attacks at Ghouta, Investigations Have Been Opened in Three European Countries|url=https://www.justiceinitiative.org/newsroom/eight-years-after-chemical-weapons-attacks-at-ghouta-investigations-have-been-opened-in-three-european-countries|access-date=2023-03-24|website=Open Society Justice Initiative}} and trigger a criminal investigation of Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher, and other senior advisers and military officials. The complaint is based on evidence compiled by the Syrian Archive, and includes testimonies from survivors and defectors, an analysis of the Syrian military chain of command, and hundreds of items of documentary evidence, including photos and videos. In April 2021, lawyers representing victims of the attack filed a criminal complaint against members of the Syrian government, including Bashar al-Assad, with Swedish police, setting in motion a possible investigation into the role of Assad and other government officials.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-19|title=Victims of chemical attacks in Syria file complaint with Swedish police|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/victims-chemical-attacks-syria-file-complaint-with-swedish-police-2021-04-19/|access-date=2021-07-11|agency=Reuters}}{{Cite web|title=Victims of Syrian gov't chemical attacks file case in Sweden|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/20/victims-of-syrian-govt-chemical-attacks-file-case-in-sweden|access-date=2021-07-11|publisher=Al Jazeera}} On 15 November 2023, French judges issued arrest warrants for Bashar and Maher al-Assad, as well as two unidentified Syrian government officials, for their involvement in the attack.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/france-issues-arrest-warrants-against-syrias-president-assad-source-2023-11-15/|title=France issues arrest warrant for Syria's President Assad|author=|date=15 November 2023|agency=Reuters|access-date=15 October 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/15/french-court-arrest-warrant-bashar-al-assad-crimes-against-humanity-syria|title=French court issues arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad for complicity in war crimes|last=Willsher|first=Kim|date=15 November 2023|website=The Guardian|access-date=15 November 2023}}

File:2015-08-21 Gedenken am Ernst-August-Platz in Hannover an die Giftgas-Opfer von Ghouta in Syrien, (22).JPG in Hannover, 21 August 2015]]

The Ghouta tragedy is marked annually by Syrians in opposition territories, Syrian Refugees and pro-revolution supporters in solidarity all across the world. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum marked the ninth anniversary of Ghouta chemical attack, describing the event as "a new nadir" in the list of horrific atrocities of Bashar al-Assad.{{Cite web|last=Ashraf|first=Sareta|date=22 August 2022|title=Nine Years Since Ghouta: Reflecting on the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria|url=https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/blog/nine-years-since-ghouta-chemical-weapons-in-syria|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822152939/https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/blog/nine-years-since-ghouta-chemical-weapons-in-syria|archive-date=22 August 2022|website=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum}}

On 21 August 2022, US government issued a press release stating:

{{Blockquote|text=Nine years ago, early in the morning of 21 August 2013, the Assad regime released the nerve agent sarin on Syrian civilians in the Ghouta district of Damascus, killing more than 1,400 people – many of them children.  Today, we recall with continuing horror this tragic event and we recommit ourselves to accountability for the perpetrators. The United States remembers and honors the victims and survivors of the Ghouta attack and the many other chemical attacks we assess the Assad regime has launched. We condemn in the strongest possible terms any use of chemical weapons anywhere, by anyone, under any circumstances... The United States strongly supports international and Syrian-led efforts to seek justice for the innumerable atrocities committed against the people of Syria, some of which rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity.|source={{Cite web|date=21 August 2022|title=Ninth Anniversary of the Ghouta, Syria Chemical Weapons Attack|url=https://www.state.gov/ninth-anniversary-of-the-ghouta-syria-chemical-weapons-attack/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526194512/https://www.state.gov/ninth-anniversary-of-the-ghouta-syria-chemical-weapons-attack/|archive-date=26 May 2023|website=U.S. Department of State}}|title=US Department of State Press Statement (21 August 2022)}}

{{Portal|Asia}}

• 2014 Kafr Zita chemical attack
• American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war
• Casualties of the Syrian civil war
• Chemical attack on Behbahan battalion
• Destruction of Syria's chemical weapons
• Douma chemical attack (2018)
• Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war
• Halabja massacre
• History of chemical warfare
• Khan Shaykhun chemical attack
• List of massacres during the Syrian civil war
• List of unsolved murders
• Syria and weapons of mass destruction
• Tokyo subway sarin attack
• Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war

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• {{cite web|publisher=Congressional Research Service|date=30 September 2013|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/R42848.pdf|title=Syria's Chemical Weapons: Issues for Congress}}
• {{cite web|title=Special Report on Use of Chemical Weapons in Damascus Suburbs in Eastern Gotas|publisher=Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria|date=22 August 2013|url=https://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports//chemicaldamascussuburbs|access-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828015032/http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/reports//chemicaldamascussuburbs|archive-date=28 August 2013|url-status=live}}
• {{cite web|title=Bellingcat archive relating to Ghouta attack|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/tag/august-21st/|publisher=Bellingcat}}

{{Syrian civil war}}

{{Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War}}

Category:2013 murders in Syria

Category:August 2013 in Syria

Category:Mass murder in 2013

Category:Damascus in the Syrian civil war

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2013

Category:Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving chemical weapons

Category:21st-century mass murder in Syria

Category:August 2013 crimes in Asia