Syria – Commemoration of the 12th anniversary of the chemical attacks against the people of the Ghouta district (22 August 2025)

On August 21, 2013, Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime launched a sarin gas attack on the people of Damascus’s Ghouta district, killing 1,400 people, including many children. With yesterday marking the twelfth anniversary of this despicable crime, France honors the memory of the victims and stands with their families and all Syrians to ensure that the Assad regime and its allies are finally held accountable for their countless crimes.

France will remain committed to ensuring that all those responsible for the use of these weapons are punished, notably through the International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, which was founded at its initiative in 2018.

France supports the efforts by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to locate and destroy the Assad regime’s chemical weapons stockpiles and hails the new Syrian authorities’ commitment in this regard. France, which is fully engaged in these efforts and wants to see the stockpiles destroyed as quickly as possible, emphasizes the importance of preserving evidence, which is essential to the fight against impunity.