'I want justice': Victims of Syria chemical attacks speak freely for first time

Tawfiq Diam is affectional due to the fact that it's the archetypal clip he's been capable to talk freely astir what happened to his household backmost successful 2018, successful Douma successful the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus.

"If I'd spoken retired before, Bashar al-Assad's forces would person chopped disconnected my tongue. They would person slit my throat. We were not allowed to speech astir it," helium says.

Tawfiq's woman and his 4 children aged betwixt 8 and 12 - Joudy, Mohammed, Ali and Qamar - were killed successful a chemic onslaught connected 7 April 2018.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a planetary watchdog, said successful a study past twelvemonth that it believed a Syrian aerial unit chopper departed from the adjacent Dumayr aerial basal soon aft 19:00 that time and dropped 2 yellowish cylinders which deed 2 flat buildings, releasing highly concentrated chlorine gas.

Tawfiq said his household was conscionable extracurricular his crushed level location erstwhile the bombs hit.

"I heard an detonation and radical shouted connected the streets 'chemicals, chemicals'. I came moving out. There was a foul smell. I saw yellowish foam coming retired of people's mouths. My children were not capable to breathe, they were choking. I saw radical lying successful the street," helium says.

The OPCW says astatine slightest 43 radical were killed. Tawfiq says determination were much than 100 dead.

"Even I astir died. I was successful infirmary for 10 days. Just 5 oregon six men successful this compound survived," helium says.

Assad's authorities denied ever utilizing chemic weapons. And its state Russia said the Douma onslaught was "staged".

Eastern Ghouta was 1 of the astir fiercely contested areas for 5 agelong years during Syria's civilian war.

The authorities yet laid siege to it and, on with its state Russia, indiscriminately bombed the country arsenic it sought to summation power of it from rebel fighters led by the radical Jaish al-Islam.

Driving done it now, the demolition wrought upon it is each astir us. It's hard to find a azygous gathering that doesn't carnivore the scars of war, galore truthful severely bombed out, they're conscionable shells of structures.

On much than 1 juncture successful Eastern Ghouta, chemic weapons - banned by the Geneva protocol and the Chemical Weapons Convention - were utilized to onslaught Douma.

Bashar al-Assad's forces captured Douma soon aft the chlorine attack, and the stories of the victims were ne'er afloat heard.

"Not a time goes by erstwhile I don't deliberation of my children," Tawfiq says pulling retired the lone photograph helium has of them, his eyes welling up with tears.

As we speech to Tawfiq, much radical travel up to america to archer america their stories.

Khalid Naseer says his babe girl Nour, his two-year-old lad Omar, and his large woman Fatima were besides killed successful the 2018 chlorine attack.

"Those who were killed were mostly children and women."

The choler he's had to suppress for six years comes out.

"The full satellite knows Bashar al-Assad is an oppressor and a liar, and that helium killed his ain people. My woman was killed 2 days earlier she was owed to present our baby," helium shouts, emotions moving high.

The chlorine state onslaught was not the lone clip chemic weapons were utilized successful the area.

In 2013, rockets containing the nervus cause sarin were fired astatine respective rebel-held suburbs successful Eastern and Western Ghouta, sidesplitting hundreds of people. UN experts confirmed the usage of sarin but they were not asked to ascribe immoderate blame.

Assad denied his forces fired the rockets, but helium did hold to motion the Chemical Weapons Convention and destruct Syria's declared chemic arsenal.

Between 2013 to 2018, Human Rights Watch documented astatine slightest 85 chemic weapons attacks successful Syria, accusing the Syrian authorities of being liable for a bulk of them.

In summation to Douma successful 2018, the OPCW's Investigation and Identification Team has identified the Syrian subject arsenic the perpetrator of 4 different cases of chemic weapons usage successful 2017 and 2018. An earlier fact-finding mission, which was not mandated to place perpetrators, recovered chemic weapons were utilized successful 20 instances.

Khalid and Tawfiq took america to a mound by the broadside of a road, a abbreviated thrust away. They judge this is wherever the authorities took their family's bodies and buried them successful a wide grave.

Looking down connected the ground, amid gravel, mud and stones, pieces of bones are visible, though it's not imaginable to archer if they are quality remains.

"This is the archetypal clip I person acceptable ft here, I curse to God. If I had tried to travel present earlier, they [the regime] would person executed me", says Tawfiq.

"On Eid, erstwhile I utilized to miss my family, I would thrust by the broadside of this roadworthy and rapidly glimpse towards this [the mound]. It made maine cry."

Tawfiq wants the graves to beryllium dug up, truthful helium tin springiness his household a dignified funeral.

"We privation caller investigations into the attack," says Khalid. He says the grounds fixed by galore to the OPCW fact-finding ngo successful 2019 was not reliable.

It's a assertion corroborated by Abdul Rahman Hijazi, 1 of the eyewitnesses who testified earlier the mission, who says helium was forced to springiness the regime's mentation of events.

"Intelligence officers detained maine and told maine to lie. They told maine to accidental that radical were killed due to the fact that of particulate inhalation not chemicals. They threatened me, that if I didn't agree, my household volition not beryllium safe. They told maine my location was surrounded by the regime's men," helium said.

One of the findings successful the 2019 OPCW study connected Douma states: "Some witnesses stated that galore radical died successful the infirmary connected 7 April arsenic effect of the dense shelling and/or suffocation owed to inhalation of fume and dust."

Abdul Rahman says helium and his household were shunned by the assemblage for years aft helium gave the testimony. He recovered it pugnacious to get a job.

Now helium besides wants a caller investigation.

"I privation the information to travel out. I'm incapable to sleep. I privation justness for each parent."

Additional reporting by Aamir Peerzada, Sanjay Ganguly and Leen Al Saadi