Syrian foreign minister vows to pursue those responsible for 2013 chemical attacks

Syria is working to identify and prosecute Assad-era officials responsible for a 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 people, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said Friday.

In a statement marking the 13th anniversary of the attack on Eastern Ghouta and Moadamiyeh in the Damascus countryside, al-Shibani said Damascus was pursuing those involved in the attacks with the aim of bringing them to trial.

Syria, he added, was also taking practical steps to address the country’s legacy of chemical weapons in cooperation with international partners.

“Syria continues working to identify those responsible for the chemical weapons massacres, holding them accountable, and bringing them to justice,” al-Shibani said, adding that the process would be carried out in accordance with the law.

He said the effort was intended to deliver justice to victims and uphold the principle of accountability.

Every year on Aug. 21, Syrians commemorate the massacre, saying it will never be erased from their memory and demanding accountability for those responsible.

This year, commemorative events are being held in several governorates, especially in Eastern Ghouta and Moadamiyah al-Sham.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the Assad regime carried out 217 chemical weapons attacks against residential areas under opposition control after the revolution erupted in 2011.

Syrian revolutionaries led by Ahmad al-Sharaa -- who now serves as the country’s president -- toppled the Assad regime in late 2024, ending the Assad family’s decades-long rule.