Canada condemns chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the Syrian regime’s deliberate targeting of civilians in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus.

"Canada is appalled by the reported use of chemical weapons against people in Eastern Ghouta, in Syria, on April 7, 2018, resulting in dozens of fatalities. Our hearts go out to those who have lost family and loved ones," Chrystia Freeland said in statement.

"The repeated and morally reprehensible use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in the past has been confirmed by independent international investigators. It is part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize local populations and force them into submission. Canada condemns the Assad regime—and its backers, Russia and Iran—for its‎ repeated, gross violations of human rights and continued, deliberate targeting of civilians," Freeland added.

Freeland expressed the country's admiration for the medical workers and other organizations, including the White Helmets, “who have been working tirelessly to save the lives of those ‎affected”.

"Our most sincere condolences go to the families of the deceased.

"Chemical weapons attacks are a war crime. Canada, alongside its international partners, will pursue accountability for these atrocities by all available means. Those responsible must be brought to justice, and the massacre of innocent civilians must end," she added.

At least 70 civilians were killed after forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime struck targets in Eastern Ghouta’s Douma district in an attack in which poison gas appears to have been used, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.