NGOs File Complaint Alleging Syrian War Crimes Over Chemical Attacks

Four non-governmental organizations have filed a criminal complaint against members of the Syrian government over chemical attacks in 2013 and 2017. The complaint was filed with the police in Sweden; among those named in the filing is Syrian President Bashar Assad, Al-Jazeera reported.

The complaint alleging war crimes accuses Syrian officials of using sarin gas in attacks in in Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province in 2017 and Ghouta, near Damascus in 2013.  Swedish police will investigate such crimes no matter where in the world they take place, according to the report.

The complaint was filed by the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM), Civil Rights Defenders, Syrian Archive, and the Open Society Justice Initiative.

Syria denies the allegations.

An investigation commissioned by the United Nations concluded in 2017 that Syrian troops used chlorine and sarin gas in the attacks.