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France gives chemical watchdog $1.2m to look into abuses in Syria

May 10, 2021 at 2:01 pm

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons headquarter in The Hague [Pierre Crom/Getty Images]

France has contributed €1 million ($1.2 million) towards supporting the activities of the Trust Fund for Syria Missions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Reuters reported the OPCW saying today.

The voluntary contribution was formalised on Friday by the Permanent Representative of the French Republic to the OPCW, Luis Vassy, and the OPCW’s Director-General, Fernando Arias, at the OPCW’s headquarters in The Hague, it added.

Last month Syria was stripped of its voting rights by member states at the OPCW global chemical weapons watchdog after its forces were found to have repeatedly used poison gas during the civil war which erupted in 2011 following the government crackdown on peaceful protests calling for a change in regime.

The Syrian regime is accused of using sarin gas in Khan Sheikhun in Idlib province in 2017 and Ghouta near the capital Damascus in 2013 killing over 1,400 people.

READ: Chemical weapons watchdog to decide on sanctions for Syria