MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Chemical weapons have been used at least 161 times in Syria since the start of the five-year conflict, the Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS) said in a report released Monday.
"The 161 documented chemical attacks have led to at least 1,491 deaths and 14,581 injuries from chemical exposure," the report reads.
Of the 161 documented attacks, 77 percent of attacks were carried out after the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2118 in September 2013, stipulating international bodies oversee the elimination of Syria's declared chemical weapons stockpiles, according to details in the report. In 2015 alone, 69 chemical weapons attacks were registered.
The largest chemical attack took place on August 21, 2013, in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta which killed more than 1,300 civilians, SAMS states in the report. Both the Syrian government and militant factions that oppose it blamed one another for the attack.
A mission to eliminate Syria's chemical arsenal was announced after the deadly Ghouta gas attack. The Syrian government placed its chemical weapons under international control following pressure from Russia.
