US-Led Coalition’s Use of White Phosphorus in Syria Must Be Probed by UN, OPCW: Russian MP

MOSCOW- The US-led international coalition’s reported airstrikes in Syria with the use of banned white phosphorus munitions must be investigated at the level of the UN Security Council and OPCW if the reports are confirmed, the Russian parliament’s lower house’s defense committee member told Sputnik.

” If it is confirmed, then without a doubt, a relevant request has to be immediately submitted to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) when the information is obtained so that a relevant internal investigation is conducted; the issue must be brought to the attention of the UN Security Council,” Yuri Shvytkin, deputy chair of the Russian parliament’s lower house’s defense committee told Sputnik on Saturday.

 In turn, Alexei Kondratyev, deputy chair of the Russian upper house’s defense committee, told Sputnik that if the United States used banned weapons, it must be held accountable.

“White phosphorus is prohibited by international law, especially in settlements where civilians may be affected. If these data is confirmed, the United States must be held accountable for this,” Kondratyev said, Sputnik said.

He also stressed that the incident requires international investigation.

In addition, a member of the Russian parliament’s upper house’s defense committee, Frants Klintsevich, said that the OPCW should look into reports on the incident as soon as possible.

Klintsevich also noted that the fact that the OPCW had not yet commented on the reports yet might mean that the organization was politicized.

The Syrian state news agency SANA reported earlier that the so-called “international coalition” continued assaults on the Syrian territories under the pretext of combating Daesh terrorists, bombing with Internationally banned weapons Hajin town in Deir-Ezzor in the southeastern countryside.

The attack is not the first use of white phosphorus by the US-led coalition.

US-led coalition operations in Syria are not approved by the Syrian government, nor the UN.

H.M