UN investigators say Syrian forces were behind a chemical weapons attack on civilians in Idlib province in March 2015.

People inspect damaged buildings targeted by air strikes in Deir al-Asafir district, in the Damascus suburbs [Mohammed Badra/EPA]

by Al Jazeera

An international inquiry has blamed Syrian government forces for a third chemical weapons attack, according to a confidential report to the United Nations Security Council.

The report, prepared by a joined committee set up by the UN and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and seen by Reuters news agency, was presented to the security council on Friday.

The UN experts behind the report said Syrian forces were responsible for a toxic gas attack in the village of Qmenas in Idlib province on March 16, 2015. The committee was unable to determine who was behind two other gas attacks – against Binnish in Idlib province in March 2015 and Kafr Zita in Hama province in April 2014.

“A joint investigative mechanism was set up by the international chemical weapons watchdog and the UN to investigate reports of chemical attacks in Syria,” Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said.

“Now in its fourth and final report it says it found a third chemical attack carried out by the Syrian army.”

The UN-led joint investigative mechanism (JIM) reported in late August that Syrian government forces had carried out at least two chemical attacks in 2014 and 2015 and that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters had used mustard gas on the battlefield.

Of the nine total alleged chemical attacks it is considering in its ongoing probe, the JIM has now attributed three to the Syrian government and one to ISIL.

In its fourth report, investigators concluded that there is now “sufficient information” that attack on Qmenas, near Idlib city, “was caused by a Syrian Arab Armed Forces helicopter dropping a device from a high altitude, which hit the ground and released the toxic substance that affected the population”.

Investigators say the substance may have been chlorine gas, based on the symptoms the victims displayed.

In Kafr Zita, however, the JIM could not confirm that the Syrian army had used barrel bombs to dump toxic substances because “the remnants of the device allegedly used had been removed”, the report said.

Investigators also said that a “canister with traces of chlorine” was found in Binnish, though the container could not be “linked to any of several incident locations identified”.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons adviser to NGOs working in Syria and Iraq, welcomed the findings but said the report should had been made released earlier.

“The fact that it took 18 months for these results to be published is the real issue, and I think the UN need to look at that because having that amount of time before taking action is just not realistic in the current day,” he told Al Jazeera.

Calls for sanctions

Chlorine’s use as a weapon is prohibited under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which Syria joined in 2013. If inhaled, chlorine gas turns to hydrochloric acid in the lungs and can kill by burning lungs and drowning victims in the resulting body fluids.

The inquiry’s mandate was extended until October 31 to finish the probe.

“Now this report will go to the security council which will discuss it in a close session in the coming week and certainly there is going to be a very heated discussion,” Hanna said.

“After JIM’s previous report the US and Russia agreed that they would agree between themselves what action to take next.

“But other members of the council, in particular Britain and France, will likely now be pushing for far more drastic measures to be taken by the security council and certainly there will be intense debate about what the security council is going to do next,” our correspondent said.

Governments in Paris, London and Washington have already called for sanctions against perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria, including against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

But the Syrian government has been shielded by its ally Russia, which has questioned the JIM findings and said the evidence is not conclusive enough to warrant sanctions.

“To drop these weapons on civilians is absolutely deplorable and reprehensible,” de Bretton-Gordon, the chemical weapons adviser, told Al Jazeera.

“I think the UN should seriously consider a no-fly zone for Syrian helicopters to prevent this from happening in the future.”

Syria agreed to get rid of its chemical stockpile and refrain from making any use of toxic substances in warfare when it joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013, under pressure from Russia.

The Syrian government has also been accused of using chemical weapons in rebel-held areas in Syria in 2016 and investigations one these occasions are still on going.

Meanwhile, security concerns forced the UN to delay planned evacuations from Syria’s Aleppo, the world body said, as Russia extended a truce that was largely holding into a third day on Saturday.

Moscow said it was extending the unilateral “humanitarian pause” in the Syrian government’s Russian-backed assault on opposition-held east Aleppo until 16:00 GMT.

But there was no sign that civilians or rebels were heeding calls to leave, with Damascus and Moscow accusing opposition fighters of preventing evacuations.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded an end to air strikes on Aleppo’s residential areas.

Speaking at a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, she described the situation in Aleppo as “barbaric”.

On the same day in Geneva, the UN rights council called for a special investigation into the violence in Aleppo in a resolution fiercely critical of Syria’s government.

East Aleppo, which the rebels captured in 2012, has been under siege by the army since mid-July and has faced devastating bombardment by the government and Russia since the September 22 launch of an offensive to retake the whole city.

Nearly 500 people have been killed, more than a quarter of them children, since the assault began. More than 2,000 civilians have been wounded.

The scale of the casualties has prompted international outrage, with Washington saying the bombardment amounted to a possible war crime.

Russia announced a halt to its air strikes from Tuesday and the unilateral ceasefire from Thursday.

The Syrian army says it has opened eight corridors across the front line for the more than 250,000 civilians in rebel-held areas to leave, but so far almost none have taken up the offer.

“There has been no movement in the corridors in the eastern district. For the moment, we haven’t seen any movement of residents or fighters,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Asked if he would concede a loss to Hillary Clinton, Republican candidate said “I will look at it at the time”.

by Al Jazeera

Donald Trump, the Republican Party nominee for US president, has refused to say that he would accept the election result if he loses, as he clashed with rival Hillary Clinton in their third and final debate.

Declining to be drawn on what he would do, he said: “I will look at it at the time.”

Trump has leaned on an increasingly brazen strategy in the campaign’s closing weeks, including peddling charges that the election will be rigged, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud in previous US presidential contests.

“The biggest issue [from the debate] is his unwillingness to accept the outcome of the election,” the Reverend Jesse Jackson, a prominent civil rights leader and member of the Democratic Party, told Al Jazeera. “That could sabotage the entire American process.”

Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Las Vegas, said that it was the first time in three debates that “we saw real policy differences” between the two candidates.

“They argued about them in substantive terms,” Fisher said.

One of the hotly debated topics on stage was immigration, which has been a key issue in Trump’s campaign. He repeated a pledge that if he becomes president, a wall will be built on the Mexico border to stop people entering the country illegally.

After discussing the wars in Syria and Iraq, the discussion turned to refugees in need of protection. While Trump repeated his claim that the US does not know who it is letting into the country, Clinton said: “I am not going to let anyone into this country who is not vetted … but I am not going to slam the door on women and children.”

But D’Angelo Gore, a fact-checker with the website Politifact, told Al Jazeera that both candidates mischaracterised each other’s policy proposals during the debate.

“Trump said that Clinton’s immigration policy was to simply grant amnesty to all the immigrants living in the United States, which is inaccurate,” Gore said. “The reality is that Clinton’s immigration reform is much more comprehensive, including increased border control.”

According to Gore, Clinton’s accusation that Trump wanted to abolish the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was also inaccurate, as Trump has thus far only expressed frustration that NATO has not focused enough on “fighting terrorism” as well as the notion that the US carries most of the financial burden.

Wednesday’s face-off at the University of Nevada came as early voting was already under way in more than 30 states – at least 2.1 million voters have cast ballots already.

For Trump, the debate was perhaps his last opportunity to turn around a presidential race that appears to be slipping away.

In an average of national polls , Clinton has a lead at 48.6 percent over Trump’s 42.1 percent.

His predatory comments about women and a flood of sexual assault accusations have increased his unpopularity with women and limited his pathways to victory.

Discussing the sexual assault claims in the debate, Trump said he did not apologise to his wife, because he “didn’t do anything”.

Clinton took the stage with challenges of her own.

While the electoral map currently leans in her favour, she is facing a new round of questions about her trustworthiness, concerns that have trailed her throughout the campaign.

The hacking of her top campaign adviser’s emails revealed a candidate who is averse to apologising, can strike a different tone in private than in public, and makes some decisions only after political deliberations.

When the moderator brought up quotes from a Clinton email released by WikiLeaks in which she seemed to express a stance on trade that differs from what she has said publicly, she quickly deflected the question.

She proceeded to say, “What’s really important about WikiLeaks is that the Russian government has engaged in espionage against Americans … this has come from the highest levels … from Putin himself … to influence this election”.

UN agency passes resolution that criticises Israeli policies around al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

The resolution caused Israel to suspend its cooperation with the agency. (AFP/File)

by Al Jazeera

Palestinian leaders have welcomed a decision by the United Nations cultural agency to adopt a resolution on occupied East Jerusalem that sharply criticises Israeli policies around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while Israel says it ignores Jewish ties to the key holy site.

A spokesman for Paris-based UNESCO said on Tuesday that the resolution, which caused Israel to suspend its cooperation with the agency, was adopted without a new vote after being approved at the committee stage last week.

The text, which touches on Israel’s management of Palestinian religious sites, refers throughout to the al-Aqsa mosque compound site in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City only by its Muslim names: al-Aqsa and al-Haram al-Sharif.

Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is the third-holiest site in Islam. Jews refer to the site as the Temple Mount.

Palestine’s deputy ambassador to UNESCO, Mounir Anastas, told reporters the resolution “reminds Israel that they are the occupying power in East Jerusalem and it asks them to stop all their violations”, including archaeological excavations around religious sites.

The UNESCO resolution also condemned Israel for restricting Muslim access to the site, and for aggression by Israeli police and soldiers, while also recognising Israel as the occupying power.

“By criticising the report for the omission of the words Temple Mount, [Israel] glosses over more than two dozen detailed criticisms of Israeli actions in and around the Old City, which is after all occupied territory,” Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan, reporting from West Jerusalem, said.

The resolution was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan – and was originally passed with 24 votes in favour, six against, and 26 abstentions.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a statement on Thursday that UNESCO had lost its legitimacy by adopting this resolution.

“The theatre of the absurd at UNESCO continues, and today the organisation adopted another delusional decision which says that the people of Israel have no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,” Netanyahu said.

In April, UNESCO also passed a resolution condemning “Israeli aggressions and illegal measures against the freedom of worship and Muslims’ access to the al-Aqsa Mosque”, also failing to mention the site’s Jewish name.

In 2011, the Palestinians were admitted as a member state of the organisation, which led the United States to suspend its payments to UNESCO.

The latest resolutions created unease at the top of the organisation, with Michael Worbs, who chairs UNESCO’s executive board, saying he would have liked more time to work out a compromise.

“We need more time and dialogue between the members of the board to reach a consensus,” he told AFP news agency.

UNESCO chief Irina Bokova had distanced herself from Thursday’s vote, saying in a statement: “Nowhere more than in Jerusalem do Jewish, Christian and Muslim heritage and traditions share space.”

But Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, responded to Bokova by describing her comments as “completely unacceptable”.

“The Palestinian government expects Ms Bokova to focus her efforts on implementing the will of member states and preserving Jerusalem from the Israeli systematic colonisation and assault on its Palestinian character,” said Maliki.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is located in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed following its invasion in 1967 – in a move never recognised by the international community – as part of its subsequent military occupation of the West Bank.

Jewish settlers and Zionist organisations have called for complete Jewish control over the mosque compound.

Jewish groups’ incursions into the mosque compound have continuously led to Palestinian protests across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military and armed settler incursions have resulted in Palestinian deaths and injuries in recent years in particular. Muslim access to the religious site has also been tremendously limited by the army.

Israeli PM says UN body has lost its legitimacy by adopting the resolution that rejected Jewish ties to the holy site.

Jordan’s foreign minister said Jordan is examining legal options for dealing with Israeli violations in the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. (AFP/File)

by Al Jazeera

Israel has suspended cooperation with UNESCO a day after the United Nations cultural body passed a resolution that sharply criticised Israeli policies around the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while supposedly rejecting Jewish ties to the holy site in occupied East Jerusalem.

The resolution condemned Israel for restricting Muslims access to the site, and for aggression by police and soldiers. It also referred to Israel as an “occupying power”.

“Israel is furious about this resolution by UNESCO,” said Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from the Occupied East Jerusalem. “Because it essentially nullifies any Jewish connection to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.”

“The resolution does assert Jerusalem is holy to the three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity but there is a special section in the resolution that says al-Aqsa Mosque compound is sacred only to Muslims.”

“It does not mention that it is sacred to Jews as well,” said our correspondent. “This is what infuriated the Israeli government.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Thursday that UNESCO has lost its legitimacy by adopting this resolution.

“The theatre of the absurd at UNESCO continues and today the organisation adopted another delusional decision which says that the people of Israel have no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall,” Netanyahu said.

“To declare that Israel has no connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is like saying that China has no connection to the Great Wall of China or that Egypt has no connection to the pyramids,” Netanyahu said.

Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said: “This is an important message to Israel that it must end its occupation and recognise the Palestinian state and Jerusalem as its capital with its sacred Muslim and Christian sites.”

The resolution, which was submitted by Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan, was voted through on Thursday with 24 votes in favour, six against, and 26 abstentions.

Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States voted against the resolution, while China, Russia, Mexico, South Africa and Pakistan among others voted in favour.

After the vote, the US also voiced displeasure saying it “strongly opposed” these resolutions.

“We are deeply concerned about these kinds of recurring politicised resolutions that do nothing to advance constructive results on the ground and we don’t believe they should be adopted,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said.

The status of Jerusalem is the thorniest issue of the decades-long Palestinian conflict.

The al-Aqsa compound is the third-holiest site in Islam. It is located in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1967 – in a move never recognised by the international community – as part of its occupation of the West Bank.

Jewish settlers and hardline right-wing Zionist organisations have called for control over the mosque compound.

Jewish groups refer to the site as the Temple Mount and their increased incursions into the mosque compound have triggered Palestinian protests across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

At least one Indian soldier wounded as suspected rebels lay siege to government office in Indian-administered Kashmir.

by Al Jazeera

Indian police say security forces are battling a group of gunmen inside a government compound in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir.

Police told the Associated Press news agency on Monday that army and paramilitary soldiers cordoned off the compound after gunshots were heard near Pampore town, about 10km outside of Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir.

One soldier was reported wounded in the initial fighting.

Sources told Al Jazeera that at least two suspected rebels are holed up inside the Entrepreneurship Development Institute, and that intermittent shooting could be heard in the building.

The attack comes as Kashmir is experiencing its largest protests against Indian rule in recent years, sparked by the killing in July of a popular rebel commander by Indian soldiers.

The protests, and a sweeping military crackdown, have all but paralysed life in Indian-controlled Kashmir, with shops, schools and most banks remaining shut and mobile phone and internet services working intermittently.

Kashmir has been divided between rivals India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Kashmir, where rebel groups have fought Indian troops since 1989 for either independence or a merger with Pakistan. More than 70,000 people have been killed since then.

Tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours has soared after an armed attack last month on an Indian army base killed 19 soldiers with the two armies exchanging heavy fire and mortars across their de facto border in Kashmir almost every day.