GCC flays Syrian use of chemical weapons

Geneva, Sep 17 (IANS/WAM) The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has denounced Syria's alleged use of chemical weapons as "irresponsible and inhumane" and a breach of global and humanitarian conventions.

"The development of the Syrian crisis places the whole world before a big challenge which requires the UN ... to live up to their responsibilities," Bahrain's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Yusuf Al-Bujairi was quoted as saying.

Al-Bujairi, whose country holds the rotating GCC presidency, was commenting on a report by a fact-finding commission on rights violations in Syria. The report was submitted to the UN.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Al-Bujairi called for adopting deterrent measures against those who carried out the alleged Aug 21 chemical attack outside Damascus and called for an end to "genocide".

He called for a united international stand over the Syrian conflict, which has claimed over 100,000 lives.

The GCC, said Al-Bujairi, holds the Syrian regime and its militias responsible for the crisis.

--IANS/WAM

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