Despite reduced violence in some places in Syria, warring parties continued to perpetrate unthinkable crimes against civilians, including the use of chemical weapons by Government forces, a group of United Nations investigators said as they released a new report.

"It underscores once more how Syrian men, women, and children throughout the country remain the primary victims of violence perpetrated by the pro-Government forces, anti-Government armed groups, terrorist organisations and their affiliates," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a press conference in Geneva, launching the report.

In its fourteenth report to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, covering the period between March and July this year, the commission noted that the Syrian air force used sarin in opposition-held Khan Shaykhun on 4th April, killing over 80 people, most of whom were women and children.

A press release issued by the commission noted that such attacks constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law and the Convention on Chemical Weapons, which Syria ratified in 2013 following a previous sarin attack.

"Reporting on such heinous crimes and violations is the core of our work," said the Commission Chair, adding that the panel has a duty to attribute responsibility accordingly, regardless of the perpetrator.

source:Wam